Of Dreams and Nightmares
by CrazyZebra
Summary: I would start by saying Alice Storm wasn't a normal girl, but the truth is she was. That is until something dropped out of the sky one night, changing her life, and even revealing some secrets about it? Not a slash. Rated T for violence/blood and some swearing. Adventure here we come! Read, review, and have fun! :)
1. Windy Days

**Hey there!**

**So yea, started a completely new account and decided to get more serious about writing, so I'm practicing with some fanfics.**

**I decided in this story, the main character, Alice will have a lot of characteristics that are completely foreign to me, like being a single child and things I don't even experience or feel. I'm trying to challenge myself by putting myself in a completely different persons shoes because after all, my characters aren't just empty words on a paper, they have to be someone. Of course I will add some familiar aspects of life just for the comfortable-ness...Is that a word?...I'm pretty sure that's not a word. Anywho, please review and tell me how I'm doing!**

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Loneliness had never really been an issue, especially since Alice Storms preferred her company much more to the company of others.

Sure she had small circle of friends, but of the fifteen or so people, she had only clicked with a couple and the rest were mere acquaintances Those two friends were the only people she had really kept in contact with after moving to her new school. It was already sophomore year of high-school and she was behind on credits. Alice was an intelligent girl, but her problem was with teachers and their irritating ways. There were a select few she got along with, but almost every teacher the past few years irked her. She didn't like how they always looked for a way to correct you, or demanded respect they seemed to think they had earned. Alice was far from a troublemaker, but her grades suffered when she skipped homework and classes just to get away. This new school wasn't so bad, though. She only went once a week, every Tuesday in the afternoon. The homework was horrendous, but at least she could sleep past six and avoid all of her teenage peers, most of whom she disagreed with. After a quick talk with her teacher that day, it was official that by the end of the year she would be caught up on all of her credits. Alice walked down the wet sidewalk with a feeling a freedom, kind of similar to the feeling of just finishing a hard test.

The wind rustled suddenly through her dark blonde hair and tickled her neck. She couldn't help but smile slightly every time a gust of wind brushed by her. The feeling of chilly wind was one of her favorite sensations when she was younger and to this day she always loved the feeling of the wind. Windy days always meant good days. As she walked on she noticed how quiet it had gotten when only the clud of her boots on the damp leaves was in the air. A brief pause of the oncoming cars in the street next to her, along with the sudden absence of the wind and gray skies, made the empty street feel a bit eerie. She took advantage of the moment of silence to reflect on the day before. She had gone to visit her friend Alo, the only person really worth making an effort to see these days.

_**~o~**_

_"You need to get out of that house more, your turning into a hermit Alice," Alo said slinging her arm over her best friend, " why did you have to go and leave me here alone in the first place?" She asked, putting on a pouty face. Even though she was just messing around, Alice still felt a tinge of guilt. She ignored it a fake punched her jaw._

_"Anything to get away from you." She joked. Alo played into the fake punch by falling back in slow motion. They had a laugh and chatted until the bell rung, and then shared a goodbye hug. Alice sneaked out of the school and began the three mile walk to her charter school. She wasn't supposed to be there anyways._

_"If you are caught on school premises, we will have the schools security escort you to the office where you will have to be picked up by your parents." The attendance staff had said in a snide voice when she withdrew from the schools enrollment to attend her charter school. Still she looked like any other student as long as she wore her backpack, so no one really noticed._

**~o~**

Alice finally arrived at her house and turned down the driveway, avoiding a few worms that seemed to of decided it would be a good time to slither on the pavement and get squashed. After hanging her coat and messenger bag up near the door, she sat on the couch with some noodles and flipped the TV on, revealing an hour long marathon about black holes on the science channel.

"Cool." She said to herself, glad there was something interesting to break the noisy silence, and proceeded to burrito herself in a little cocoon of blankets. She recorded it in case she fell asleep, not wanting to miss anything being the scientist at heart that she was. She had always wanted to be a scientist since second grade, which was a little strange for a seven year old girl. Being sixteen now there was still something about the vastness and spectacular beauty of the universe around her dazzled her curiosity and she often wondered why not many others shared her enthusiasm about the wonders outside of the little cradle they lived in.

"**Alice**."

She felt a rush as someone called her name and her eyes darted around the room for about a minute until she relaxed into the couch again.

"Dang it..." she muttered when she caught sight of her noodles on the ground. Somehow she always managed to doze off, and just at the point of sleep someone would call her name. Sometimes it was her friend's voice, sometimes her step mom's, and sometimes it was the voice of people she couldn't even recognize. It didn't happen all the time, but just often enough to annoy her. After quickly cleaning up her noodles she decided to go back to her room to do some homework. '_At least it will pass the time_.' she assured herself and walked up the stairs books in hands, as inevitable boredom started to creep up. Her room was cozy, not too small, but not crazy large like Alo's. That girl could hide an elephant in her room. She flicked the light on and the walls light purple paint, not her choice of color, reflected off the walls, brightening the mood mildly. Throwing her books on her bed she walked over to the window and peered out just in time to see her step mom park in the drive way.

Her dad had married Ashley when Alice was young, maybe around five, but he knew Ashley for a long time before they got together. Her father wasn't even her biological parent, actually her adopted one. He adopted her around the age of three. Though she had heard stories of people tracking down their biological parents, she had never been to interested. Whoever they were they didn't want her, so the feeling was neutral at the moment. The image of a parent in her life had always been her step dad, Walter. Alice had faint memories of tossing a football and seeing a movie, but the memories of his smile seemed to fade with each passing year. Life dimmed when he passed away a year after he married Ashley, making her Alice's legal guardian. He suffered a heart attack while at work and was discovered at his desk before anyone could even call for help. It was tragic for both of them, but it took its toll on Ashley more than it did on Alice. Her step mom now worked two jobs and usually wasn't home most of the day. She always seems tired, though she is mostly a bubbly person. On the weekends she attended classes with some girlfriends and sometimes even when out on a date every so often, though no one was currently lucky enough to have her. Even though she cared and provided for Alice, they had always been more like sisters. Sure she had talks and even dropped her off at Alo's house on the weekends and some weekdays always telling her to be safe and such, but there really wasn't a mother daughter relationship between them which actually made it easier to communicate believe it or not.

Alice walked over to her bed and plopped down on it. She hated thinking about this, about her mom, and about dad. She wanted to forget it all, but at the same time she felt obligated to remember her dad. Reflecting on everything always put her in a funk, and she silently kicked her brain for bringing it up. She heard Ashley come in the front door and shuffle around downstairs.

"I'm home!" She finally yelled as her footsteps approached the stairs. "You up there?"

"Yea." Alice shouted through the walls.

"Well come down here I want to show you something." She said and her footsteps faded into the living room.

Alice groaned and got up. She probably got some kind of new cooking device. Anything from waffle irons, cake pop makers, to snow cone machines you name it Ashley has it. She did have a certain knack for cooking, but she hardly ever uses any of the things she buys. Alice tiredly walked down the stairs, wanting to sleep, but not wanting to mess up her schedule. She walked into the kitchen to see Ashley with her back turned to her.

"You ready?" She said when she heard Alice approach, a hint of excitement in her voice.

"Shoot." Alice said as her curiosity sparked.

She twirled around gracefully to reveal the smallest dog she had ever seen. It was definitely something.

"You got a dog?" She asked shocked. It was certainly adorable, its little face a perfect blend of light and dark brown, with black eyes that sparkled with youth.

"No, you got a dog!" She said beaming a hug smile. She handed the little guy to Alice and she couldn't help but melt when it looked up at her.

"Diane at work has a dog that just had a liter of pups, so I thought you could use a companion. It must get pretty lonely when I'm not here, so she gave me one for free!" She said happily as she walked over to the table and started unpacking groceries. "Isn't he a cutie?"

"So its a boy?" Alice said, cooing and awing as she pet his little head.

"Yup, and hes eight weeks old, so hes gonna need a lot of attention." She said with a more serious tone as she put some milk in the fridge.

"What kind of dog is he?" Alice asked, noticing he was started to fall asleep in her arms.

"I'm pretty sure hes a Yorkie...wait...yea I think its a Yorkie." She said hesitantly.

"Do you like him?" She said with a more concerned tone as she looked over a her from behind the fridge door.

"Yea I love him, thanks a lot." She reassured her. Alice never really had a dog before, only a couple of guinea pigs and parakeet, all of whom has either passed, been taken by another family, and decided to fly free but she didn't dislike pets.

"Now remember, you have to train him and make sure he knows where to to potty and such." She said. Of course Alice knew that, it was her dog now after all.

"Don't worry, as long as the all wise and knowing internet is by my side I should be able to handle him." Alice said sarcastically. "Do you think-", she was cut off by the sound of Ashley's phone. She held a finger up and answered it, so Alice sat down at the table and kept the sleeping dog in her arms as Ashley struggled to talk with the phone between her head and shoulders as she put the last of the groceries away. She finally hung up and turned to Alice with a sigh.

"I have to go back in." She said tiredly, and went to grab her keys.

"Ok." Alice said simply, not really surprised. "What about the dog?" She asked.

"What about him? Just show him around your room and make a little bed for him. There are puppy pads sitting on the couch in the living room along with some soft dog food, so make sure you put it down in your room somewhere with some food and water. Diane said they were already going potty on the pads, so I think it shouldn't be much of a problem."

"Cool beans." Alice said, getting up to follow her to the door. Her keys jingled as she walked out the door and to her car.

"I might be late so don't wait up for me." She said giving Alice a brief hug before getting in the car.

"Ok, and thanks for puppy, Ash." Alice said nudging her head toward the little ball of fur in her arms. Ashley smiled and gave his head a quick pat. "No prob."

"See ya." she said shutting the door. Alice watched her pull out of the driveway and wave just before taking off. She let out a small sigh and noticed the light rain starting to fall. She hadn't noticed the pup had been shivering so she rushed back inside to show him around.

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**Dang that was tiring. I know this first chapter might of been a little boring, but I felt I had to introduce the characters and get a feel for them. Don't worry the next chapter starts to take off. **


	2. Shooting Stars

**Ok its finally time to start taking off, hopefully I got this... :3**

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Alice brought the pup upstairs and put out all of his necessities in the corner. She put down a small wooden basket with some blanket inside for a bed and noticed she was being stared at. The trip up the stairs must of woke him up since he was sitting up wide eyed and. After a few moments of staring she finally decided to say something.

"Come here!" She said in her best excited voice, bending over and patting her hands on her knees. The dog instantly hoped to its feet, vibrating with energy, and yipped the cutest little bark she had ever heard as It ran back and forth on the corners of the bed looking for a way down, and after a couple of hesitant tries he finally jumped off the bed and excitedly ran over to her, slipping around on the hard wood floor. She smiled as he stood up against her leg and looked up with the cutest face she had ever seen, tail wagging and eyes wide.

"Awww you are just the cutest little thing..." She cooed as she picked him up and put him back on the bed, and suddenly the sound of her cell phone was heard coming from the living room. After making sure to close her bedroom door she rushed downstairs and got to it just in time to see it was Ash.

"Whats up?" Alice asked, heading to the kitchen for some sweet tea.

"Hey Alice, the store is keeping me here until six, so I'm just calling to let you know I won't be home for quite awhile." She heard Ashley say with a tired voice. Ever since she got this part-time job as a cashier she was getting these outrageous hours. Its good thing tomorrow was Saturday, or she would be a wreck.

"Wow that really sucks." Alice muttered as she took out some sweet tea. She vaguely heard the dog whining upstairs as she poured her drink, and made a mental note to get some toys to occupy him if she wasn't around.

"Yea, anyways did you name him yet?" Ashley asked curiously. Funny, Alice never about naming the pup, and she didn't really have the slightest idea what to would suite him.

"No I haven't really really thought of it yet. What do you think fits?" She asked, open to suggestions.

"I don't know, I was thinking something along the lines of Frederick..." She said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Psh, yea right." Alice retorted with a laugh as she put the tea away, hearing a slight chuckle on the other end. The mood was suddenly killed when the lights flickered and went out.

"uh oh..." Alice said, walking over to the wall to try the light switch.

"Whats wrong?" Ashley asked with concern in her voice.

"The powers out." Alice said after a moment. She groaned and pulled out a flash light from one of the cabinets.

"Do you know how to work the circuit breaker?" She asked.

"Yea, I'll call you back." Alice said heading for the front door.

"Okay then, call me back." She said hesitantly.

"Don't worry Ash, something probably blew a fuse. Good luck." she said ending there short conversation.

"You to, be careful." She said before hanging up.

It was still slightly windy outside, the skies were covered by clouds that shone with a slight pinkish grey color. She made her way to the side of the house, opened the circuit breaker, and flipped a few switches. She watched the kitchen through the window and saw that no lights came on. '_Great, a line probably went down._' Before she even latched the cover, a ferocious boom suddenly exploded in the sky above her.

"What the-" She couldn't help but say aloud as she looked up into the sky trying to find out where it came from. Shocked and shaken she noticed the sky had grown immensely dark. Already acting on adrenaline, she ran to the front yard, watching and listening on the edge of her yard.

'_What the hell was that? Was it a plane? Thunder?'_ Alice always had an irrational fear of planes, and the thought of one crashing was terrifying to her, even if the odds were a thousand to one_._ Questions where tripping over themselves in her mind as she heard another boom and although this one wasn't as loud, she felt it run through her. Wisps of gold caught her eye suddenly, and she studied the sky where it had came from. _'Lightning_?' Her curiosity and fear drove her to the middle of the street, making her feel slightly exposed in the light sprinkles of rain starting to fall.

_'Is no one else hearing this?_' She thought looking over at the houses down the street, all of whom were quiet and eerie. It was so dark now she could hardly see the outlines of them. Her house was located on the corner of Farrows road, a lonely little corner that had short green patches of field separating her house from the others on every side, except the back where there was an older empty house. The fields were owned by some grumpy old man that had never mowed them and had a distaste for cats.

A sudden gust of wind pushed her and made her step back and cover herself. There it was again, that glow, brighter than before. This time it looked like a shooting star...no... a_ falling_star. Not in control of her own actions anymore she took off running into the field of grass across from her, almost tripping over dirt clods and weeds '_What am I doing? Am I going to catch it?_" It was all happening so fast, she couldn't even answer her own questions. The wind was loud in her ears as she ran, and the gap between it and the ground was closing fast. The tension she felt grew as she got so close, but realized there was no way she could get there in time. With one last push, she sprang froward with her arms outstretched and fingers extended.

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**:O Whats wrong with you Alice? Are you crazy? Anyways, how did I do? I know it was a little short, but I'm pretty happy with it, good ol' cliffhanger. Anyways stay tuned! :3 I actually know someone that works at wal-mart, and she has the work outrages hours like that. Really though thats just all kinds of crazy. :I**


	3. Star Stuff

**OMYGOSH I'M BACK! So yea lets get this chapter started..**

**BEFORE YOU READ, there is a slight reference to the movie towards the end of this chapter, so if you haven't watched it, get off your butt and buy some tickets because it's awesome. Seriously. Go now. Yes now...go...dude...GET OUT OF HERE**

**Yea so your still reading so you probably watched it, or you don't care much about spoilers, which is cool...cool beans...ENJOY! :p**

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It all happened much faster than she had predicted. The impact was not quiet what she expected, her eyes closed at the last second, the last thing she saw was a bright flash of gold followed by a thud that shook her bones. She felt a confusing flurry of dust on impact as Alice wrapped her arms around the unknown thing and felt herself begin to dive back into the ground. There was no time to brace for the fall as the ground promptly rose up to meet her. She gasped as she clashed with the stiff dirt and landed on her back, knocking the wind out of her. Unable to control her body, she rolled a few feet and then went still. Struggling to remember how to breathe again, she opened her eyes to see the dark outlines of the grass that prickled her face and neck. All went quiet as she slowly turned on her stomach and gently rose on her hands and knees, noticing for the first time how cold and wet the dirt was.

Alice shakily rose to her feet and almost fell to the side as she steadied herself, attempting to form a coherent thought. '_What the hell did I do that for?'_ She found a voice in her head saying with regret as she brought her hand up to her pounding head, the sudden movement making her stagger back slightly. Suddenly she remembered why she was there in the first place. She snapped her head up to looked around frantically, making her vision blur slightly. _"Where is it?"_ She struggled to think as she recalled letting go of it as she collided with the ground. She turned to her right and looked over her shoulder. _There!_ A golden glow hardy noticeable behind the grass. On impulse she walked towards it, stumbling on some weeds that had wrapped around her foot, she found herself back on her hands and knees. She gave little concern as she half crawled half walked, determined to know what it was. She moved the grass aside with her arm and was astonished with the sight in front of her. Its appearance was more alien than anything she had seen before, it's whole body radiated with a dim golden glow, and it wore an almost robe like attire. It was chubby in proportions and seemed to be short in height. Its face was smooth and still, with no emotion, and it had crazy hair that stuck out in different directions. She looked back at its face and a feeling of alarm started to rise within her. '_Is this thing alive?_' Alice wondered as she anxiously held out her hand. Not entirely sure what to do she lightly nudged its arm and quickly retreated, studying its face for any reaction. Looking at her hand, she noticed some sand like substance on it and rubbed her thumb and pointer finger together slowly as she studied it. A slight movement in front of her brought her back to reality and she backed up slightly as she noticed a slight twitch in its eyelids. Suddenly something clicked in Alice. This thing was alive. She approached again more worried than scared now.

"Hey...are you okay?" She was surprised by the words that rushed out of her mouth quiet loudly, making her hand recoil. She adjusted herself and reached her hand out again, and without thinking for the second time that night she shook its arm gently. Now she had done it. She noticed the glow surrounding it brighten slightly and it's eyebrows furrowed slightly as it did what Alice feared would happen. It's eyes opened revealing a deep golden colored iris, ones that she had never seen before. It didn't moved for a few moments, beside a couple of dazed blinks, making her tense anxiously It looked to it's left and then right until its eyes found Alice. She froze as it's eyes filled with alarm and it sat up, making her fall back into a sitting position with a gasp. The sudden movement made it wince, and she watched closely as it shut its eyes and shook its head. "Ar-are you hurt?" Alice found herself saying with a stutter as she got back up on her knees. She kicked herself mentally for not being cautious, but she couldn't help it. Alice went silent as it stood up shakily and took a small step back as it shook its head again and regained it's balance She watched in wonder as it dusted itself off, making puffs of glowing dust fall off. It looked around first up in the sky and then at her with a confused look. All she could do was stare, finding herself at a loss for words. It raised confused eyebrow and pointed up at the sky with questioning eyes.

"What are you-" Alice was cut off by sudden voice in back of her.

"Well that was boring." Alice jumped and immediately backed away from the person behind her. A dark figure suddenly rose out of the ground behind her and glistened in the sudden moonlight . Shocked at the sudden appearance of the dark haired female she found herself staring dumbstruck. '_Who is this? How did she do that? Did she see what happened_?' questions were tripping over themselves in Alice's mind as she studied the girl. All she could do was stand their in wait for an explanation. She looked not much older than herself, and was just a bit taller. Her hair was pitch black and her eyes shone in the light of the moon with a brilliant deep purple. Those eyes stared into her with such a contempt, Alice felt her very being being studied.

"I have to say I didn't think you would get involved this early on."She straightened out her long black coat and shook her head making her hair fall messily to the sides before turning her attention back to Alice.

"I remember you." The woman in front of her said softly as she tilted her head, her voice flowing out like velvet.

"I've never seen you before in my life." Alice found herself saying. She really didn't know what to say but she felt the need to say something defensive.

"Oh Alice how you've grown..." She said, her silky voice even softer. Her voice sounded loving, but her eyes were taunting and stiff.

"And look at that messy hair." She said with a chuckle and started to walk towards her, her hand outstretched. Suddenly, the golden creature stepped up and stood next Alice. She had completely forgotten about what had happened before, and looked down at its face to see it's golden eyes full of anger, fists clenched, and lips pursed. The phrase "if looks could kill" really did live up to its name in this situation. The girl looked over at the golden individual, narrowing her eyes. Any trace of kindness or humanity that might of been present in those deep purple eyes was certainly dead now. Minutes seemed to tick by as the three stood in a tense silence.

"So much for the element of surprise anyways." She finally with a shrug, the emotion on her face suddenly smoothing out. Behind her a bubbling black substance started to rise from the ground. It glistening in the white light as it pulsed and grew as Alice watched, completely lost in the events taking place. The design of a chair started to take place as corners sharpened and rough textures became smooth. Alice never expected something like that to happen, and even what happened next surprised her. The woman took a seat, one leg resting over the other. She put her elbow on the arm of the throne-like chair and rested the side of her head in her hand. Her hair slightly cover her eye as she stared at them with a taunting smile and chuckled softly.

"I'm disappointed Sandy," She said with amusement "Do you always let your guard down so easily? And here I heard you were quite the warrior." She spat the last part quite curtly, the scornful amusement never fading in her voice.

_'Sandy?'_

Alice looked down, studying the golden individuals reaction. To her amazement, a sand like substance started to fall from his clenched hands. As they fell to the ground they snaked out into the grass, forming two long ropes that "Sandy" grasped tightly. The woman's eyes narrowed and turned even colder. A inhuman growl erupted from her, sending chills down Alice's spine. Suddenly a looming creature lumbered up out the the ground from behind the chair. It was clear the growling came from the bulky creature that was now sitting next to her, panting heavily. It looked like a massive wolf, easily 6 feet tall. Its ears and fur spiked out in sharp fine clumps that looked as if they could pierce steel. Its eyes shone with a dull orange, and it's snout was narrow with razor sharp teeth that gleamed in the moonlight as it growled. With every menacing exhale, a puff of white vapor flared from its mouth and nostrils. Any fear had been reserved within Alice was certainly present now. The only thing keeping her from running was the fear it would lunge if she moved.

"Ooooh...look at the beautiful baby.." The woman said lovingly, sitting up on the arm of her chair and draping her arm around it while stroking its neck gently. If their was a point Alice had to decide if this woman was mentally unstable, this was it. As if hearing her thoughts, she turned towards Alice.

"Come over here Alice, you wouldn't want to get yourself hurt." She said, her tender tone tempting Alice over.

Alice stood their, not able to fully process the request. _'She wants me to walk over to the giant wolf beast so I don't get hurt? Yea right_.' She thought as she looked down at her golden companion. He looked up at her sternly and shook his head.

Alice looked back at the woman, her face still as she waited for her response. Alice finally found her voice

"No." Alice said sharply. Whoever this lady was, she was clearly dangerous, and Alice wanted no part of it.

"Are you taking his side?" There was venom in her voice as she spoke, causing the creature next to her to snarled ferociously and stand up on all fours. She patted it's neck, whispering soft words into its ear. After a few moments it finally sat down with a low growl, it's stare piercing them.

"I'm not taking anyone's side," Alice said, finally mustering up the courage to confront her, "but I'm sure as hell not siding with a crazy wolf lady." Alice was shaking now but she didn't care anymore. She noticed Sandy silently chuckle next to her and watched as he looked up, raise his hand to his head and waved his finger in circles. Alice couldn't help but chuckle to at his "crazy" motion. It felt insane that they were was cracking a joke with a man eating monster in front of them, but what else could she do?

"Do you think this is a joke!" The woman suddenly shouted, stepping off her chair and standing alongside her creature causing it to once again sit up, this time with a piercing shriek that sounded like a cross between a scream and a bark . The sudden outburst sent a rush through Alice, making her take a cautious step back. _'Yea...that wasn't so smart_.' Alice thought, scolding herself silently. Her expression didn't change as she glared at Alice.

"Are you sure?" She said coldly.

Alice didn't answer. _'What is she expecting me to say?'_

The woman sighed and turned to her wolf like beast, whispering into its ear. It instantly let out another terrifying shriek and started to bolt towards them. Sandy stepped forward and lashed the whip in his right hand and then his left, the high pitched snaps cut through the air making Alice flinch twice. Each time the creature darted out of the way at the last second. Alice didn't have time to be impressed as the thing quickly closed in and prepared to lunge. Knowing there was nowhere to run, and knowing their was no way of defending herself against such a massive creature, Alice braced for the attack. She felt something wrap around her waist, and looked up just in time to see Sandy holding the other end of the whip attached to her. He quickly hurled her in the opposite direction, flinging her a good distance out of the way. Alice felt the wind of the beast as it launched by her, and was at a loss for oxygen as she felt herself hurled into the air. She hit the ground with a soft thud, and of all the things she could have thought at that moment, the feeling of slight nostalgia of times she had played on the beach came to her mind. She scrambled to her hands and knees and realized she was sitting in a pile of glistening sand, the colors and lights clashed with the darkness of the ground. The golden sand that had broken her fall shimmered and began to slide out from under her. she fell back into a sitting position and watched numbly as Sandy was striking out at the beast, who, although was being kept at bay, was standing it's ground. Every time he lashed out, the wolf would rear up and try to lunge at the whips, attempting to claim one.

Alice sat up on one knee, panicked and unsure what to do, she looked around frantically at the houses around her, still dark without a soul around.

'_Is no one hearing this?'_

She briefly thought of running for help, maybe to a neighbors house to call the police or something of that nature. She looked back over at the fight, noticing Sandy had managed to get one of his whips around the creatures neck, it reared up and thrashed around wildly trying to escape. Their was no way she could leave. What if they disappeared when she got back? Her body was screaming at her to run and her arms and legs where burning with adrenaline, but she didn't move.

"Alice."

Upon hearing her name Alice sat up on one knee and froze, listening with tense ears. A light tap on her back and she knew who was behind her. She closed her eyes and braced for whatever was about to happen. A soft hand on her shoulder made her flinch and she opened her eyes to see the woman kneeling down in front of her, staring into to her eyes. Not for the first time that day, Alice once again found herself staring right back, unable to look away. The sounds of whips cracking and shrieking snarls became background as her brain struggled to think of a response. Having a closer look at her face now, Alice realized she was in fact quite beautiful. She had a pale like complexion that looked like porcelain, and her purple eyes were deep and mysterious.

"Look at those eyes," she murmured softly, never looking away from Alice, "They're as pale blue as ice." Alice didn't know how to respond to her statement, but she knew it disturbed her.

The woman finally broke her stare and stood up, holding out a hand. She stared at it suspiciously.

"What do you want from me." Alice said after a few moments, not willing to take her hand.

"I want you to understand-." She said curtly.

"Well you're doing a horrible job of it." Alice retorted, helping herself up and taking a step back. "Who the hell are you anyways?"

"Ava." She said simply lowering her hand. A bit surprised she actually answered, Alice glanced over her shoulder noticing the fight had been driven much farther down the field.

"Why do you insist on taking his side?" She asked, as if she were some kind of traitor.

"Why do you insist on trying to kill him?!" Alice asked, raising her voice angrily. She made a mental note that Sandy was in fact a male, never actually thinking to guess what gender he was. She was proud her voice didn't waver, and it gave her more confidence.

"Why do you care?" The woman asked, keeping her voice leveled.

"I-." Alice stopped. She couldn't answer that if she didn't even know why.

"You wouldn't care if you knew what he's done." She said, the venom returning in her voice.

"What do y-" Alice's question was cut off when she noticed something dark flash in front of the moon and realized something was plummeting towards them.

"Watch out!" She heard a different voice yell and felt a sudden burst of wind and in an instant she was swept off her feet. Alice gasped when something grabbed her arm as she started to fall. The sudden decrease in speed made her sway back in forth as she looked down at the ground. Between the wind rushing past her ears and the twenty foot gap between her and the ground she began to feel nauseated. She normally wasn't scared of heights, but that was when she was prepared for it. Finally able to think she looked up at the person holding her TWENTY FEET above the ground.

"Put me down!" She screamed angrily, not to fond of being thrown into the air for the second time that night.

"Okay okay...sheesh. A little thank you would've been nice." A males voice said defensively above her as he began to gently lower her down. Her feet shakily met the ground and she felt him hold onto her arm as she tried to regain her balance.

"Can you stand?" He asked.

"Yea, let go." She said, not really wanting to be touched at the moment.

"Sure." He said casually, letting go.

Alice looked around and noticed Ava was no where to be seen.

"Where did she go?" Alice asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"Who?"

"Ava, that girl! The one with the monster dog things!" Alice shouted frantically, not wanting to be caught off guard like last time.

"No one here but us." He said with amusement, obviously enjoying her fret.

A growl erupted behind them and Alice turned to see the creature she wanted to avoid the most.

"Well and that." He said in a in a low voice. "There is two of them now?" He said with an agitated whisper.

"What do you mean two?" She frantically whispered, looking for something she could defend herself with.

She backed up and felt her foot nudge something. She slowly bent down and picked it up the stick behind her, not wanting to make any fast movements, and held it out in front of her.

"What are you going to do with that, whack him with it?" He whispered as they both slowly backed up.

"You have any better ideas?" She whispered angrily. "Besides your one to talk." She added, referring to the stick he was carrying which was skinnier than hers.

"Yes, I am." He said much louder, making the wolf best snarl angrily. Its reared up and prepared to attack when suddenly the end of his stick erupted in a brilliant burst of blue glow. The beast backed up as Alice felt a cold breeze.

"Whoa..." The only response Alice could give.

The creature back up, easing into the ground with a low growl as it did.

"Where did it-" Alice didn't even finish her sentence before she felt a cold breath on the back of her neck. Slowly turning around she came face to face with it.

"Don't move." She heard him whisper behind him. She had no intention of doing any such thing.

It growled softly when she turned her head towards his voice and not wanting to provoke it, she turned her head back slowly coming eye to eye with it.

"...easy boy..." She said holding her hands out in front of her, not sure what else she could do. She watched it carefully, terrified of the fact that she could be ripped apart any second.

It exhaled sharply at her words and took a small step forward. Acting on a whim she raised her right hand to its head hesitantly. It shuddered slightly making the fur on its bad click as bits of black sand fell off and and turned into wisps of strands around its legs, but it kept constant eye contact.

"What are you doing?!" He whispered behind her rather loudly.

She ignored him and carefully moved it farther, trying not the move to fast. The air grew colder around her hand as she reached further. She was centimeters from touching it when out of nowhere something collided with it from the right, making it yelp a high pitched cry. In an instant the two beasts had rocketed out of her way. She looked over surprised to see Sandy, panting heavily with an intense expression on his face, his whips still clutched in his hands. A dark figure rose up behind him. As Ava's form took shape Alice noticed the long jagged sword in her hand and what she intended to do with it.

"SANDY!" Alice screamed out, making the boy with white hair instantly turn around.

"NO!" He screamed with rage, launching himself forward as she raised her jagged sword. His weapon erupted in a flurry of white and blue that hit her with such and force that she was pushed backwards, although never quite getting knocked off her feet.

"There's no way that's happening again." He growled sharply, holding his weapon in front of him. He took off again, swinging his staff. Every swing erupted in a brilliant flash of light, to which everyone was intercepted with her sword and sliced in two. Alice and Sandy watched tensely as she stopped suddenly and melted back into the ground. Alice could have swore she saw a small smile playing on her lips before she vanished. The white haired boy stood there for a second before turning back and joining them.

"Are you guys alright?" He asked, looking over to Sandy. Alice looked down to see him shaking his head and swaying slightly, before gaining his balance.

"Woah dude, you really put up a fight out there. How you feeling? Do you need anything like water or somethin'?" He asked worriedly as he circled the golden man. Sandy tugged on his sweater and motioned with his finger to lean down.

"What-ow!" Before he could finish his question, Sandy raised a hand and thumped him on the head with his finger before crossing his arms with an irritated expression.

"Alright, Alright. I'll take that as a yes then." He said with a chuckle and stood back up, rubbing his forehead. They looked over at Alice and noticed her staring at them with a confused look. They looked back at each other, the white haired boy motioning towards her with his hand as if to say, "Now what?". Sandy shrugged with a addled look before they both looked at her again.

"Uuuh..." The boy in white started.

* * *

**ugh the horror...thank you dictionary. I HATE SPELLING ERRORS, so if you notice any kindly tell me! :D Thanks for the reviews BTW, I love reviews and they are really the only things that keep me writing so yea...Review and tell me how I did, I can appreciate criticism. The next chapter might have spoilers regarding the books, but I'll make sure to add that to the beginning if it does. :3 Thank you!**


	4. Trouble Comes in Threes

**WARNING:**

**~BOOK AND SLIGHT MOVIE SPOILERS AHEAD~**

**Every time I try to write my little brother starts slipping blank papers under my door. Why? Why?! **

**My OC is an only child, so it's kind of hard to put myself in her shoes regarding siblings. My brother and sisters are constantly harassing me, waking me up in the middle of the night, and doing all sorts of weird junk. I'm pretty sure it isn't healthy to try to eat a frog,**

**So its kind of hard to imagine what beign an only child is like which doesn't help when it comes to Alice.**

**Aaaaaand here goes...**

* * *

The three stood in silence for a few moments, Alice stood in front of them, arms wrapped around herself. Now that the danger seemed to be gone, and there were no wolf monster things in sight, her body suddenly became aware of the cold that chilled her to the bones. She stood there, shaking, yet relatively calm which disturbed her.

"Whats going on." She said quietly, her dark blonde hair falling in front of her face in a result of the small movement

"Um, can we do this somewhere else? I'm feeling a little exposed out here..." The boy said, looking over his shoulder.

After a few seconds of more silence, Alice turned without a word and started towards her house. The two silently followed, throwing questioning looks and shrugs behind her back. Finally arriving at the road, she crossed and walked up the driveway in a mindless state. After slipping her muddy shoes off, she walked in and held the door open.

"Shoes off." She said with a blank tone. The second she said it she felt strange. Every time she invited friends over she informed them of Ashley's "No shoe rule," but this time it just felt odd to say something so mundane after all that happened.

"No problem." The boy in the blue sweater said, holding up a bare foot and wiggling his toes before walking past her. She glanced at Sandy who proceeded to look down at his small feet with a slight frown. He rose up off the ground and hovered there for a moment, looking up at her with a smile. She stared as he floated by and joined his companion in the living room. Alice closed the door with loud groan and leaned against the cold surface with her forehead.

_'This is really weird.' _The only thing that she could think. She stood there trying to gather her thoughts before turning around. After flipping the light switch she remembered the power was out._ 'Great_.' She walked into the living room with a sigh and suspiciously noticed Sandy was looking above her with an anxious look, a small circle with a slash through it appeared above his head just as she looked up.

"BOO!" The boy with white hair exclaimed as he dropped from the ceiling, poking her shoulder. Alice jumped and turned around angrily, not in the mood for playing games. He laughed as Sandy floated over, giving him a look of disapproval while wagging his finger.

"Sorry, sorry," He said between laughs, " just trying to lighten the mood a bit, you guys are so tense."

Ignoring his explanation, Alice started to walk towards the kitchen when she suddenly remembered she had dropped her flashlight in the driveway.

"My flashlights outside." She said, not bothering with the other light switches. Before she could head for the door the boy spoke up.

"I'll get it." He said quickly and jumped up as a burst of wind propelled him out the door, making a a chilly breeze drift through the house. The moonlight dimly beamed through he windows, but wasn't enough to light the farther parts of the house. After a couple seconds of silence she walked into the dark hallway and blindly grabbed a towel from the closet. She Patted her wet hair with it before dropping it in the laundry basket and sulked back into the living room, her hair still a little frizzy and wet but she didn't care much at the moment. After sitting down on the couch with her legs crossed Indian style, she put her head in her hands and closed her tired eyes, the silence making her forget she wasn't alone. A tap on her knee startled her as she looked up to see Sandy holding up a blanket with a sympathetic smile.

"Thanks." She muttered, appreciating the kind gesture.

Alice draped the blanket over her shoulder and grasped the corners in her lap just the boy walked in with the flashlight.

"Found it," He said proudly as he held up the wet flashlight, "still works too." He shined it at both their faces making them squint and cover the eyes.

"That's nice just put it down." Alice said while shielding her eyes from the unexpected light. He placed it on the coffee table in front of her making the light reflect off the white ceiling which slightly lit up the room. Alice rubbed her temples as her headache subsided and realized it had gotten quiet again.

"What just happened?" Alice asked again as she raised her head.

"Actually I was hoping you guys could tell me." The boy said, plopping down in an armchair before pulling his hood over his eyes.

She looked over at Sandy, who was now the only one left standing and her last hope for an explanation.

"Wait a second who are you guys anyways?" She questioned as she examined Sandy. Even though she had somewhat adjusted to his presence, his appearance was still stunning.

"You can answer that," He said with a confident voice as he flicked his hood with his fingers, "you wouldn't be able to see us if you didn't believe in us."

"What?" She asked, not quite understanding his reasoning.

"I'm Jack Frost." He said, looking over his shoulder with surveying eyes.

Alice stared at him for a moment before replying.

"You mean like that winter spirit thing?" She said suspiciously, vaguely recalling references from movies and stories from grammar school.

"Well I don't know about spirits or anything, but I do like winter." He retorted with a mischievous smile.

"Oh and that's Sandman," he said, tilting his head slightly in his direction, "or Sandy as we call him. He doesn't talk much. I take it you two have met though."

_Sandman? _

He beamed at her when she gazed over at him and waved a small hand making wisps of sand float in the air before sinking and fading.

_'Have I finally lost it_?" Alo had always said that one day she would snap and go on a mass murder rampage or something. '_Maybe this is the first stage. I should really call her, I did say she would be the first to know._'

"Wait a second, how can you she see us if she doesn't believe in us?" Jack asked suspiciously, sitting up in his chair.

Alice blinked, not sure how to respond to his statement. Confused and tired she put her head in her hands again.

"Have I gone crazy? Tell me now if I am crazy because I have no idea what your talking about." She half groaned as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Yup." Jack answered her humorously. Sandy threw jack an irritated expression and crossed his arms making Jack sigh before clearing his throat.

"What I meant to say is we are Guardians, kind of like protectors. We protect the children of the world and fight the bad guys and stuff." He said nonchalantly, hanging his head upside down on the arm of the chair as he looked over at her. "Only the children who believe in us can see us." He continued with a frown. "Haven't you ever heard of the Tooth Fairy or Easter Bunny before?

"Of course I have, everyone has, but those are just fairy tales and myths-wait, did you say Tooth Fairy?" She asked, her voice mirroring her disbelief.

"Wow. This is kind of awkward." Alice didn't really here his statement as she began to space out.

It was difficult for her to grasp what he was telling her, but she knew there was no denying what she had seen with her own eyes. How could she rule out anything he said after all that just happened?

"Are there any more of you?" She asked, welcoming the familiar feeling of curiosity.

"There's a few more." He said casually.

"Was she one of them?" Alice asked with a feeling of anxiety as she remembered the disturbing individual.

"No way." He said quickly, his tone going from carefree to defensive.

"Who was she then?"

They both turned to Sandy who slightly frowned before he slowly hovered over to the couch and plopped down quite cozily on a pillow next to Alice. She watched curiously as he held his hand out and lyrical threads of shimmering sand swirled together into a small circle before collapsing in the middle and rising up to form a slender figure.

"I don't get it." Alice said after closely studying the the narrow features of the persons face.

"What does _he _have to do with this." Jack asked, his voice lined with disgust.

"Who is it?!" Alice asked impatiently as she looked from Sandy to jack.

"Pitch Black, the Nightmare King." Jack answered, not fully paying attention to her.

Alice examined his face carefully to see if he was joking or not but decided not to speak, wanting to know as much as possible.

"So what is she some kind of minion or something? A follower?" Jack asked.

Sandy shook his head back and forth and the sand morphed into another image. Alice looked closely to see a what looked like a baby carriage from old cartoons she used to watch.

After a few seconds the message set in.

"Pitch has a daughter!?" Jack half shouted, his state of surprise made Alice itch even more with curiosity. Even though question after question was whizzing around in her head Alice stayed quiet.

Once again sandy shook his head no, and the figure of Pitch appeared again, this time the clothing of a soldier, equip with a hat and sword.

"Oh..." Jack said, his tone more mellow now. A few seconds of silence passed before he spoke up again.

"But how was she here? How did the fighting start?"

Sandy gave a small shrug before a present with a bow appeared and hovered for a few seconds before the top suddenly popped off, sending little clumps of golden sand in the air.

"She gave you a present?" Alice asked with a questionable tone.

"No, she surprised him."Jack corrected her, obviously more advanced in their conversation of charades than her. _'That probably wasn't pleasant .."_ Alice thought after recalling the whole reason she ran out into that field in the first place.

"Then what-" Jack was suddenly cut off by a crash upstairs. The room went quiet as everyone froze in their tracks and listened closely.

"What was that?" Jack whispered, breaking the silence.

"I don't know...sounded like something broke." Alice whispered back. The thought of someone in the house was always a phobia since she was usually home alone and she felt chills run down her spine at the very real possibility. Another crash went off, the sound of glass shattering on the floor echoed from the second floor.

"Come on." Jack whispered, picking up the flashlight. Alice promptly stood up and followed him as Sandy floating silently beside her. They stopped at the bottom of the stairs for a moment before slowly ascending, pausing at every creak. Not a sound was made until they reached the first guestroom. Jack mouthed the words:

"_One...Two..._" On three he threw the door opened and held out his staff while scanning the room with the flashlight. Besides a bed and a table all seemed right, and he quietly closed the door and tip toed to the second guest room. They repeated the process, finding the second room empty. Finally they approached the last door in the hall. Alice's room. On the silent count of three her door was flung open followed by an array of small barks that erupted from somewhere inside the room.

"What the.." Jack said as Alice sighed with relief.

"It's just the dog."She said more to herself than the others. She pushed past Jack to see the pup sitting on her bed, obviously shaken by the strangers intrusion. In front of the stand next to her bed was a broken glass cup sitting in a pool of water. Upon seeing her, the dog stopped barking and started to whine in frustration as he tried to muster up the courage to jump off the bed. Alice saved him the trouble and sat down next to him, making sure to step over the glass. He promptly jumped in her lap and buried his face in her arms trying to burrow into her. The gesture made her feel guilty that she had forgotten all about him, though she did have a good reason.

"A dog huh? Why didn't you so say?" Jack said as he leaned against the doorway.

"I forgot." She said simply as she scratched behind his ear.

"You forgot you have a dog?" He asked in a mocking tone. Sandy peaked into the room from behind Jack and his face lit up with delight upon seeing the small dog. He quickly drifted in and tilted his head trying to get a look at the furry pooch hiding in her arms.

"I just got him, like less than a couple of hours ago. I really didn't have much choice in the matter." She said simply as she moved her arms, forcing the Yorkie to confront the stranger. He growled and stood up, only barking once before sniffing the air around him. Sandy chuckled silently and held out his hand to the puppy. After a couple of sniffs the dog decided he was not a threat and lost interest as he walked off her lap and sat on the blanket at the end of her bed while chewing the corner. Sandy promptly followed and conjured up a golden butterfly that flew around the puppy, sparking his playful nature. The dog jumped up in a quite adorable and enthusiastic manner though never quite wrapping his teeth around the apparition. The sight was heart warming, and Alice enjoyed it before noticing a cold breeze coming from her open window.

"That's weird..." She muttered as she got up to close it, not recalling opening it in the first place. There was a small window sill on the wall outside her window that Alice always used to climb on when she was younger. Every time she closed her window she reminded of the times she would sneak up onto the the top of the house. The roof was only about a couple of feet above it, and being as flat as it was was easy to climb onto. Walter never approved of it, so Alice usually climbed up their at night when she couldn't sleep, mostly to watch the stars. She stopped reminiscing at the moment and turned round, leaning against the closed window. She noticed the dog was asleep in Sandy's lap with a small scene floating above his head of a dog running around in circles, it's leg twitching every now and then in it's sleep.

"Whats he doing?" Alice asked.

"Dreaming." Jack said with a small smile on his face as he watched the scene.

'_Oh right.'_ The Sandman, deliver of dreams. She watched the dream for a few moments before bringing the matter at hand back up.

"What do we do now?" She asked without looking up.

"We?" Jack inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes "we". I'm involved now aren't I?" Alice stated, irritated that he was playing this card.

"Yea, but I figured you wouldn't want anything to do it. You don't want to go through that again do you?" He asked as he pointed towards the field where everything had happened. Alice went quiet for a moment before answering.

"She knew me. I don't know how, but she knew my name."

"How did you get involved in this anyways? And how can you even see us? You are human aren't you?" His questions held a tone of accusation that irked Alice. The sound of glass being swept up in a yellow broom and dust pan lingered behind their conversation before it hovered over to a wastebasket dissipated making the glass falling rather noisily into it.

"Yes I'm human." She snapped, not liking his tone. She paused briefly before going on.

"I was outside when I heard some kind of loud noise in the clouds. When I went out to get a better look I saw something falling from the sky and ran out to see what it was. That's where he came in." She explained looking over to Sandy and noticed Jack tense up out of the corner of her eye. As if on cue a catchers mitt and a baseball flashed over his head and then scattered back into the air.

"You caught him?" Jack said with amazement.

"Well...I wasn't really thinking straight at the time...but yea." Alice admitted as she continued. "He seemed kind of out of it at first, but he looked fine after he got up. Anyways she was watching us the whole time." She felt a feeling of anxiety rise in her stomach as she spoke the last sentence.

"How did she do that? With the black stuff and the sinking into the ground?"

"Nightmare sand. It's similar to Sandy's dream sand, but more like an evil twin kind of thing. As far as her using it and being able to fade into shadows, I've only seen one person do it." He said, his voice growing darker.

"That Pitch guy?" She asked. He nodded and and leaned against his staff.

She saw Sandy pick up the dog and put him on the bed out of the corner of her eye. He proceeded to jump off and hover to the ground before tapping his arm above his wrist with a sense of urgency.

"Now? Are you sure? What if she comes back?" Jack asked after taking notice of Sandy's signals.

"Wait you guys aren't leaving are you?" Alice asked and straightened up with worry as she looked from Jack to Sandy.

Golden sand gathered over Sandy's head and yellow hard hat appeared, similar to a construction workers. He tapped his invisible watch again, this time more impatiently.

Jack sighed and straightened up. "Okay I'll tag along for a littler before heading for the Pole." Sandy expressed a look discontent but didn't seem to argue much.

"Wait, wait, wait, you guys can't just leave!" Alice raised her voice to an almost pleading tone.

"Believe it or not we have work to do. Well Sandy has work to do. I don't much like work." Jack said. Sandy responded by knocking on his hat which faded shortly after.

"What work?" She asked.

"Where else are people going to get their dreams tonight?" He started to walk towards the window when Alice blocked his path.

"What if she comes back?" Alice asked afraid her voice would give away her fear.

Jack sighed again and put his hand in his jacket pocket, pulling out a small box shaped thing.

"Here." He said, handing it to her. She took small device that fit in her hand quiet nicely. It was decorated with red and blue swirls that symmetrically traveled up the sides, giving it an almost Christmas-y feel to it along with two buttons, a blue and orange one.

"Since Sandy is busy tonight I'll just get a new one when I visit North." He said. Sandy impatiently hovered over to the front window and crossed his arms.

"What is it? North? who's North?"

"If anything comes up just press the blue button and it will alert us, but only if it's really important."

"What about the orange one?" She asked, turning it over and examining the back.

"Just don't press that"

"Okaaay..." She said warily. She felt a tug on her sleeve and looked down to see Sandy holding a hand out, the image of a baseball and mitt over her head again.

"Umm..." She said awkwardly as she took his hand and looked to Jack.

"He's thanking you."

"Oh right...no problem." She said awkwardly as she shook his hand. He smiled and nodded, turning back to the now open window and stepping out.

"What are-!" She stopped mid sentence when he hovered outside her instead of falling. "Right." She said, forgetting these guys seemed to be able to defy gravity better than the average person. He smiled in amusement and waved as he rose in the air and quickly disappeared above the house.

"Anyways, thanks for the help. I suppose you weren't completely useless out there." He said sarcastically as he approached the window and stopped in front of it.

"Gee, thanks." She muttered.

"Seriously though, if you weren't there when you were things could have gone a lot differently." His voice more tender this time.

"Are you thanking me because of the sheer chance that I happened to be outside at the time?"

"Well that's half of it I suppose."

"Well don't mention it then." She said. Alice wasn't entirely happy she had gotten herself into this mess, but she was glad everyone was alive. They said nothing for a few seconds when Sandy suddenly appeared upside down at the top of the window, this time an hour glass appearing next to him.

"Well see ya." Jack said as he started to climb out the window. A sliver of golden dust passed in front of her face and she felt suddenly felt her eyes grow tired.

"What the..." She said as she rubbed her eyes.

"Don't worry about it, just get some sleep." He said. Sandy flashed her a thumbs up, which was actually a thumbs down from her perspective, and then disappeared again.

"What?-Wait!" She shouted and grabbed his sleeve.

"What?" He looked back with a impatient expression. She thought for a moment before speaking.

"Will I see you guys again?" She asked, worried they would would leave and never come back as if her imagination had played some twisted prank on her.

"Probably." He said half heartedly. He jumped out the window, forcing her to let go, and disappeared for a second before and a gust of wind carried him out of sight. She leaned out the window and studied the grey sky as she clutched the device in her hand. Nothing. Now alone, Alice slowly closed the window and stood there tiredly thinking.

_'Did that just happen?_'

She looked down at her hands, which seemed very real at the time, and noticed the room was still slightly chilly. The cold room and the sleeping dog on her bed was the only evidence she had that proved a boy with white hair and a small golden man had just been standing here with her, and it wasn't very reliable evidence. Confused she walked over to her bed, not sure what else she could do. After plopping down she didn't bother pulling up the covers knowing very well in her tired state she would probably wind up punching herself in the face. After a few moments of staring at the dark ceiling she dozed off into a dreamless but comfortable sleep.

* * *

**I'm ashamed to say sometime I punch myself in the face when trying to pull my covers up to my chin. It's not as funny as it sounds.**

**:P**


	5. Superstitions

**BOO!**

* * *

Alice turned over in her sleep, trying to ignore the banging on her door. When it didn't subside she sluggishly sat up and looked at her clock.

6:13.

Irked that she was being woken so early Alice got up slowly and walked to the door, her bare feet tingling from the sudden temperature change of the cold hardwood floor. She unlocked it to find Ashley on the other side with a worried expression tainting her features.

"Whats up?" Alice said tiredly as she rubbed her eye.

"Is everything okay?" She asked worriedly.

"Yea... everything's good...why?" Alice responded, finding it difficult to form a coherent sentence.

"When I got home the front door was wide open and its freezing in here!" She exclaimed as she rubbed her arms.

_'Freezing?'_

Suddenly everything that had happened that night hit her like a train making her stand there like a deer caught in head lights.

"Alice? Whats wrong, did something happen?" Ashley asked as she took note of her sudden stiffness.

"Uh...no, I just...can't believe I left the door open. Yup, very irresponsible" Alice muttered half heartedly. She wasn't sure if she could tell Ashley What happened without sounding crazy. Ashley flashed a look that said 'This is not amusing.'

"Why are your clothes all dirty?"

"What?" Alice looked down at her shirt and pants and they were indeed quite a mess. There were mud stain on her knees and dark smudges lining the edges of her shirt.

"Oh right. I went for a walk in that field over there." Alice said as she pointed behind her towards the grassy field.

"When was that?"

"I don't know...maybe 10:00...or 2:00...something like that." She said the last part quickly with a wave of her hand.

"Did you fall in the mud or something? You know your not supposed to go on his property." Ashley said seriously, referring to the old man an they liked to call Mr. Nebbercracker.

"Yea I know I was just going for a walk."

"Well next time do it earlier, you don't want to get attacked by some rabid dog in the middle of the night or something." She muttered as she turned around and started to head for her room.

"Wait." Alice said as she opened her door more.

"Yea-" Just as Ashley turned around Alice embraced her in a tight hug, hoping she wouldn't notice her shaking.

"Your getting me all dirty." Ashley said sarcastically as she hugged her back.

"Sorry." Alice muttered, making sure to wipe her eyes behind her shoulder before letting go and facing her.

"Do you need to talk about something?" She asked. Alice knew she was referring to Walter and decided it was time to retreat back to her room.

"No...I'm just tired." Alice answered before turning around.

"Okay then. By the way, do you want me to take the dog outside?"

"Oh...right, I forgot about that." Alice muttered before quickly walking back to her room. The furry pup was still asleep on the end of her bed, making Alice feel guilty when she woke him up and brought him back out into the hallway.

"Did you find a name for him yet?" Ashley asked as she took the dog and held him up to her face, making all sorts of adoring faces.

"Nope not yet."

"How bout' Tom Riddle?" She asked with a smile.

"Psh," Alice laughed, "We aren't naming my dog after Voldemort." The puppy impatiently nipped at Ashley's brown hair, apparently not a fan of being held for so long.

"Shhhh, don't say his name." Ashley whispered as she backed up.

Ashley turned around with a chuckle and walked down the stairs before disappointing from sight. After a couple of seconds Alice's smile faded and she stood there quietly.

_'Could I have imagined all of that? Is my mind playing some kind of sick joke on me?'_

Alice looked down at her clothes and without another thought she went back into her room and changed into a T-shirt and some pajama pants before walking over to the window. She opened it and leaned out onto the window sill, putting her cheek in her hand. Alice decided she would stay up since the sky was already starting to light up. She thought about the strange company she had last night and suddenly had an idea. She jumped onto her bed enthusiastically and pulled her laptop out from the her nightstand drawer and opened Google. She typed in "Sandman" and scrolled through the links. Nothing caught her attention immediately so she clicked on images, only to be met with book covers, super-villains, and an occasional movie actor. With a disappointed sigh she went back to the search engine and tried adding "Guardian" to the key words. Unsatisfied with the results she closed the computer and put it away.

'_You'd think someone would know who they were, it's not like they don't attract a lot of attention.' _At this thought, Jacks words crossed her mind from last night.

_"Only the children who believe in us can see us."_

_'Children, huh? Does that mean I'm not supposed to see them?'_ She had certainly not giving fairy tales much thought before, not to mention faith_._ So if what he said is true, then why had she seen them? She liked not knowing the answer. For some reason it felt like a mystery. Her mind itched to know something, anything, that would help her know more, and she was determined to find out. Alice was so busy staring at the the wall she hadn't noticed Ashley come back with the dog until she put him on the bed.

"How bout' Sammy?" She asked.

"Sammy? Where'd you get that?"

"You remember that kid that tried to throw a brick at you in second grade?"

"Yes..." Alice narrowed her eyes. "You want me to name him after my child hood bully?" She asked.

"No, I was just thinking of that and I thought, 'Oh wow Sammy would be a name for a dog.'" She said with sarcasm.

"Well your right." Alice retorted as she picked up the shivering dog.

"Really? You like it?"

"Yea sure...why not?" She said as she held him up to eye level. "He kinda looks like a Sammy."

"Oh, and you might want to dress warm today, there's some snow out there so try not to fall on your face."

"Snow?" Alice asked, feeling the kid inside her mind jump with excitement. She got up and quickly walked back to the window, wondering how she had missed it. Glistening white snow softly blanketed her yard, making the scene look whimsical. "Cool." Alice breathed, noticing the water in her breath turn to vapor. Alice could't even remember the last time she had played in the snow, and it really wasn't that often that the snow actually piled where she lived.

"If by "cool" you mean icy roads of death then yes, its pretty cool." Ashley said sarcastically.

Alice couldn't help but giggle as she reached for her beanie and coat.

"Well I'm beat so I'm gonna go lie down." Ashley said as Alice wrapped her dark blue scary around her neck.

"Kay then. Get some sleep."

"Yadda yadda." Ashley said tiredly as she exited and walked down the hall and disappeared into her room. Alice grabbed her black gloves before turning her attention back to her dog.

"Dang, you sure sleep a lot." Alice muttered over Sammy before tucking him into the blanket.

As she slipped on her gloves Alice noticed something shimmer in the morning light from underneath her pillow. She lifted it up to see a box with two buttons on it. She picked it up and stood there for a second, not sure whether to be relieved or disturbed._ 'At least now I know it happened.'_ She thought unhappily before sticking it in her coat pocket.

With her mind buzzing she quietly slipped down the stairs and out the front door, her warm cheeks quickly met with a chilly breeze. The yard outside was sparkling with patches of snow, sections of it already starting to melt._ 'If the temperature doesn't drop soon this will all be gone in a day..._' Alice thought sadly as she closed the door behind her. She walked out into the frozen grass, savoring the sound of the crunching snow under her boots. She scooped up a handful and squeezed it together before chucking it at a tree, making a small group of birds flee. She chuckled and walked down the driveway, turning onto the sidewalk and deciding to go for a walk. Alice used to hang out on an old bridge about an hour from here with Walter when she was younger, and even dim memories of snowball fights and hot chocolate began to creep into her mind. She felt her eyes start to sting with tears, and the chilly breeze on her face wasn't helping, but she was determined not to get down today. After quickly wiping her eyes with her sleeve she noticed she was almost there and watched as the bridge slowly come into view.

It was quite beautiful bridge at one time, one that didn't see much action anymore, but it wasn't completely forgotten. It's wood that had once been crisp and stiff now creaked and groaned and most of it's brown paint had already peeled off. Alice expected if it could talk that it would tell many tales of forgotten travelers and complain how it joints don't hold it up like they used to. Even with all of this it was beautiful none the less and it was the perfect place to clear your mind. The trail that followed the bridge led into a Forrest full of long slender trees, most of them dead and without leaves, that twisted and thickened as you walked farther in. Alice had been in there before, but the deeper she went the darker it got and the trail would start to disappear, making her turn back in fear of getting lost. She finally reached the bridge and slowly walked towards the middle, sliding her hand on the old wooden rail. Stopping half way, she leaned over the side and studied the frozen water beneath it.

Just as she started to drift into her thoughts she heard a strange sound and her ears pricked with curiosity. She stilled herself and listened more closely hoping their wasn't some stray dog lurking around. The air was quiet for a minute when suddenly a screeching sound echoed through the air from beneath her. She instantly leaned over as far as she could and peered below the bridge. A little black animal was directly below her, scrambling on the ice before looking up and her. The black cat froze in it's spot as her eyes met with its shining yellow ones. She stood back up and thought for a moment, not sure if it was worth the risk.

"Oh, what the hell..." She muttered and quickly walked to the corner of the bridge, already having convinced herself to help it. She liked cats, although she never had one of her own, and the thought of it freezing to death on the ice was unacceptable as.

_Talk about bad luck...'_ She thought, given the cats superstitious nature. She carefully climbed down the frost covered dirt wall of the stream and stopped just above the ice, cautiously tapping it with her foot. Looking from side to side, Alice picked up a decent size rock and threw it down onto the ice as hard as she could. Satisfied with the sturdy clunk it made, she cautiously placed her right boot onto the ice and slowly stood up. After standing still for a few moments she carefully looked up to see the furry black cat shrink in as she lifted her head. She almost didn't notice the black collar around its neck.

"It's okay..." She said softly, trying to soothe its fears as she slid a foot forward. It was a quick movement that almost cost her her balance. She righted herself and tried to slowly move the other foot out. No matter how hard she tried to leisurely move her feet, her movements were always quick on the slippery surface. After a few more tries she was beginning to get the hang of it. Appreciating the fact she was wearing boots, Alice found herself gradually getting closer and closer to the shivering animal. Just as she started to get confident, her right foot slid out to far and her feet flew out in front of her making her heart skip a beat. She fell back fast, her bottom hitting the ice quiet uncomfortably.

"Dang it..!" She muttered as she sat there, grateful she didn't hear any cracks.

"Well that wasn't attractive." She said to herself as she looked up to see the cat's reaction. The sudden movement frightened it and it tried to run even though it made no progress on the slick ice. It went still again and stared at her with wide eyes as if she had just formed some elaborate scheme to try to kill it by falling on her rear. She sat up on her knees and studied the ice around her, making sure there were no cracks. Satisfied with her inspection, she slid on her knees and slowly approached the cat, who was now staring at her in horror.

"Oh stop it you idiot, I'm not trying to kill you..." She muttered, not happy with her soaked knees.

She stopped in front of it and carefully reached out her hand, not wanting to get scratched. After a couple sniffs the cat seemed to relax and stood up, its face almost smiling mischievously It meowed and walked around her in a circle, making sure to brush along her back tauntingly before emerging at her right side and climbing into her lap. It lightly stroked it's tale under her chin before sitting there and staring at her with golden eyes.

"Wait a second, do you mean this whole time you could walk? I just did all that for nothing?" Alice said irritability knowing very well she was talking to a cat in the middle of a frozen stream.

The cat purred in response and pushed it's head under her hand, making her lift it and pet the feline with an unhappy groan. It looked up at her again with shimmering eyes and sweetly meowed again before dissolving in her lap. Her eyes widened as she held a black pile of sand in her hand where it's head as just been.

"What the..." Alice said as sat there in shock. She stared at the black substance on her with a look of horror and shock, not noticing the soft footsteps that approached her.

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**Hmmm...yea I did that kind of fast...hope I didn't make to many errors. :/**

**lol I imagnned that kitty with a troll face the whole time xDD**

**Anyways, review my people...review and rejoice!. :)**


	6. Withered Roses

**R.I.P. To all those who lost their lives in the recent shooting. People seem to think we live in a great time of human history and yet with everything we've accomplished and everything we have defeated like diseases and even the brutal forces of mother nature its astonishing that something like this can happen and seems to happen often. and to think this card was dealt by our own kind. **

**I know its a touchy subject right now but I had to say something. My sorrows go out to those who have lost loved ones and have been affected by this tragedy.**

* * *

"Beautiful isn't it." Ava said simply as she stopped in front of her. She paused for a moment before gliding past her, her swift motions on the ice made Alice fear for the frozen surface.

"Um.." Alice looked up to see Ava gracefully sliding in circle, seemingly not paying Alice any mind. "I don't know...Sandy's seemed more...well charming " She said half heartedly as she studied the black substance in her palm. "And did you just kill a cat?"

"It was never alive to begin with. Well actually it depends on what you consider alive." Alice felt her glide past her, very nearly brushing her shoulder.

She sat for a second as she stared at the sand, wondering if she should try to make a run for it. She didn't much like the situation she was in but it didn't feel like she was in any obvious danger...at the moment anyways. She lightly felt her jacket pocket to make sure she still had the small device Jack had given her before slowly attempting to stand. Her feet jerked on the ice as she almost lost her footing and paused for a few seconds before standing in a hunched position. She looked down at her clenched hand still holding the black sand and opened it, noticing how it glistened in the sun.

"I suppose it does have a nice gleam to it." Alice mumbled. "How does it work?"

Ava chuckled before slowly coming to a stop next to her. "You talk as if it's some kind of machine." Alice noticed she had a strange accent.

"You said it's alive?" Alice looked up and attempted to straighten herself up. The fast movement cost her her balance and she cursed as she started to fall back again. A black tendril shot out and coiled around her wrist and slowly lowed her down. Ava chuckled again and sat down in front of her. Alice examined her wrist which was still being held firmly by the black twine and watched warily as it slowly uncoiled itself from her wrist and began to retreat towards Ava, leaving a red line on her skin that wrapped around her wrist. She held out her hand as the sand collected in her palm and began to rise into a figure. Alice watched in wonder as the form of a withered black rose took shape.

"Whoa..." Alice said as she sat up and cautiously reached out a hand. She lightly touched one of the petals and flinched her hand back as it dissolved and fell into her palm like water, hitting jagged thorns and a single shriveled leaf on the way down.

"How do you do that? Is it some kind of mental telekinesis thing?" Alice asked. Ava's eyebrow arched in amusement before she replied.

"Here." She said as she suddenly reached out and grabbed Alice's hand and held it tightly.

"Hey!" Alice shouted, her instincts suddenly telling her to run. She had been so fascinated by everything that was happening that she forgot that this person was probably a lunatic. Ava held a fist over her hand and cold black sand began to fall into her palm. She let go and Alice quickly drew her hand into her center before examining the sand in her hand.

"Try it."

"...What do you mean try it?" Alice said with narrowed eyes.

"Just concentrate."

"Uh I don't think I can, I don't even know-" Alice stopped when a cold look passed over Ava's features. She sighed and unsurely looked back at her hand.

_'What is it I'm supposed to be doing here?'_ She thought as she studied the sand in her palm shifting her hand side to side and watching it tumble and roll over in her hand. _'Its just sand.'_ She thought before looking up to Ava with a confused and almost pleading look. Ava breathed an annoyed sighed and adjusted Alice's hand again before speaking.

"Just listen."

"To what?" Ava watched her but didn't answer. Alice Though for a moment before speaking.

"I don't think I should be doing this." She held out her hand in an attempt to give the sand back.

"Don't you want to know how it works?" Ava asked and pushed it back. "Just listen." She repeated as she closed Alice's hand.

Alice warily studied her face and frowned. She looked back down to her closed hand and stilled herself. Her breathing calmed and she felt herself began to drift as she concentrated and listened. Her eyes involuntarily closed and she felt her head grow heavy and bow slightly. Her surroundings grew quieter and she could feel every vibration of the the air as the wind lightly breezed past her. She let every defense and barrier in her mind drop as she tried to reach something, _anything. _Alice could almost _feel it. _Something just beyond her reach, something she could almost touch. No, not touch. _Feel_. The sound of static in the background of her mind began to grow louder and she felt her mind tingle with caution as something reached out to her. Just as she felt as if she was inches away from it, everything suddenly went dead quiet. She couldn't describe the absence of her senses. There was no cold or warmth, no smell, and no sound. It was complete nothingness. It was the feeling of being numb. A loud audible click suddenly jerked her out of her meditation. Her eyes shot open as the sound of static was suddenly screaming in her ears, blaring like sirens all around her. As soon as she opened her eyes she saw the world around her shifting and fluctuating Every shadow was moving and squirming, almost screaming as it desperately tried to stay out of the light. The light was blindingly bright and she felt her being shrink back at its power, the need to hide from it overwhelming her. It almost_ hurt_.

Her sudden gasp pulled her out of the twisted sight in front of her and she squeezed her eyes tightly shut as she fell back once again. When she opened her eyes to see the black and white world gone and Ava still sitting in front of her with a curious look on her face. The black sand in her hand fell as she scrambled backwards, trying to distance herself from her. She stopped and sat their with her eyes wide, breathing heavily and shaking.

"You get used to it." Ava said as she stood up and approached.

"W-What the hell just happened to me." Alice asked withe a shaky voice, her ears ringing as if someone had fired a gun right next to her. Every little sound and twitch around her was loud was loud and it felt like she had just been hit by lightning. Alice noticed the sky was darker than before, not black but definitely dimming into a hazy light blue. Ava noticed her look up and answered her confusion.

"You were gone for quite awhile."

"Gone-what do you mean gone-? I didn't go anywhere! What did you do to me!?" Alice almost screamed, her heartbeat still fast in her chest. She backed up again as Ava stood in front of her, looking down at her with cold eyes.

"What did you see?" Alice didn't answer.

After a few moments a cold smile curled its way into Ava's features. She held up her hand and twisted it, a strand of black sand dancing around her fingers. It's motions were fast and erratic, twitching and curling as if it were moving blindly, much unlike the golden sand she saw the night before that flowed in a more lyrical way.

"No matter. You have already been imprinted." She flashed her eyes towards Alice and the black wisp of sand began to flow towards her and circled around her.

"What are you tal-"

"You know...they really seems to like you." She said as the sand suddenly began to take shape. The black cat from before bounded towards her and nudged her foot before it began to crawl into her lap. Alice held her hand up defensively but listened to her words.

"I'm almost jealous." She said coldly. As if on cue the cat hissed and lurched forward with a shriek and Alice felt a sharp piercing pain tear through the top of her hand as the cats razor sharp claws sliced her skin. Her breath caught in her throat as she instantly withdrew and somehow managed to stand up without falling. She defensively clenched her hands and carefully watched the cat as it circled her, her bleeding hand stinging from the cold wind. It suddenly ran out from under her and retreated behind Ava, almost making Alice lose her balance. The cat affectionately rubbed against her leg and twitched it's tail back and forth.

"What is your problem?!" Alice shouted. She looked down at her hand which had a pretty nasty rip in it, much unlike any cats scratch she had ever gotten before. Ava sneered and a jagged sword took shape in her hand. Alice's eyes widened in horror and backed up, the static from before suddenly roared in her ears. She grabbed her head and squeezed her eyes shut pleading with the noise to go away. The noise lingered for a few moments before subsiding and Alice gratefully lowered her hands, the sound of blood drops on the ice almost synchronized with her pounding head. Feeling her back tingle She could see her shadow sporadically shifting and pulsing out of the corner of her eye. She didn't have enough time to be confused.

"Defend yourself." Ava said before lunging. In a split second Ava was above her with her sword in the air and a gleam in her eyes. Alice barely had time to jump to the side as her sword came down with inhuman strength. Alice hit the frozen ground and heard the sword break the ice as she slid to a stop. She whirled around just in time to see Ava pull it out of the ice, making the water beneath splash up and glistened in the receding sun light.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" Alice screamed. Ava advanced again, each step making a sickly crack that turned her stomach.

"Are you trying to get killed?" She asked in a mischievous tone, her devious smile widening even more.

Alice heard a clunk as the device fell from her pocket and hit the ice next to her. She scrambled to pick it up and went to press the buttons, cursing herself mentally for forgetting about it. Just as her finger hit a button a black vine shot out and ripped it from her grasp. It held the box above her head and tauntingly shook it back and forth before crushing it. She gasped as bits of it fell onto her and, her last hope literally crushed in front of her. With a swift movement it was thrown aside uselessly. Ava chuckled and approached her.

""And what were you going to do with that? It's not like anyone can help you now." She teased as she stopped in front of her. A wave of defeat was over Alice and she realized their was no way out, well no way out but down, which was not really an option at the moment.

_'Whats the point...' _

She felt shivers as the tip of the blade caressed her cheek. Alice felt her warm blood slowly slide down her cheek, the temperature clashed with her cold cheek.

"Are you giving up?" Ava asked, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"You didn't even try to-" Ava gasped when a white flash suddenly slammed into her sword, knocking it to the ground. She stood there for a second before slowly turning around.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you mate."

* * *

Yup. Yet another chapter comes to an end. I feel like I'm losing my motivation for this story, but I will power through! :D I did this whole chapter while listening to this:

watch?v=nDz5SzpA3Xw

Thank goodness for background music. Anyways reviews appreciated!


	7. Down The Rabbit-Hole

:)

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Alice wasn't sure what to think of the thing standing there. Covered with grayish fur from head to toe with various markings on it's arms and legs, it was easily over six feet, topped off with two large ears. A boomerang was clutched above his head in his paws.

_'A rabbit?'_

Alice couldn't see Ava's face but even with her back facing her she feel her could stare.

"This is none of your business. Leave."

"Ha! Uh yea, not happenin' girly." He said with a laugh, his voice heavy with an Australian accent. His greens eyes darted from Ava to Alice before he raised a furry eyebrow.

"Y'alright over there?" He shouted.

"...Uh...yea..its just a scratch." She answered and drew her hand in towards her.

'_What kind of glove can't protect you from killer cats.'_ She thought sourly as she ripped the shredded glove off her bloody hand and threw it aside.

Alice heard a sigh escape Ava and looked up just as black sand began to fall from her clenched hands and slither out onto the ice.

"Well don't that look familiar." The bunny muttered as the two whips took their shape.

Without warning Ava lashed out with lightning speed, her black hair flying forward from the lightning quick movement. The bunny darted to the side, narrowly avoiding the whip, and a high picked crack sharp enough to make Alice wince sliced through the air. As soon as he touched the ground he threw the boomerang and narrowly dodged a second attack. The boomerang came whirling back just as Ava was about to lash out again, slicing right right through it. The top half fell to the ground, it's structure falling apart and dissolving into a useless snake like mound of sand. In an instant the severed whip in her hand distorted and sporadically morphed into massive razor sharp scythe. She lifted the weapon over her shoulder and held it there for a second before swinging it out in front of her, a loud rush of wind splitting through the air. The bunny took a mighty leap into the air, came down onto the scythe, and began to run along the snath straight for Ava. She angrily thrusted a hand out and shot forward a black twisted spike from her palm.

"Woah!" He shouted and moved to the side the best her could as the piercing point narrowly missed his side and whizzed past him. The furry warrior leaped into the air, all the while placing a paw on her head and using it to pivot himself around and landed one the ice behind her. He slid to a stop in front of Alice and stood up boldly between the two females.

"Hop on." He said with a quick glance behind him.

"What?"

"Oh for the love of..." He quickly reached behind him and grabbed her wrist.

"What are you-ah!" She shouted as he quickly yanked her up and onto his back. Not expecting the sudden action, her hand involuntarily shot out and grabbed one of his ears.

"Oi! Watch the ears-ow!" He shouted as he stumbled backwards, almost losing his balance on the slippery ice.

"Sorry!" She yelled back and, much too her injured hands dismay, clutched the fur on his shoulder. He grunted but eventually righted himself and held out his weapon.

"What, leaving so soon?"

A black tendril suddenly shot out towards them and Alice looked up just in time to see it heading straight for her head. Alice ducked behind his shoulder as the black roped whizzed behind her and sharply circled back around.

"Get off!" She yelled as it suddenly wrapped tightly around her wrist, jerking her hand away from it. Just as it began to snap back the boomerang sliced through it, reducing it to dust that fell to the ground. The boomerang whisked out into the air and curved inwards and began to travel on a collision course for Ava's head. Just as the weapon came a foot within her face a black rope blasted out from behind her and stopped it in it's tracks. A sly smile curved onto Ava's lips as she tauntingly waved it from side to side.

"Hey-!" The bunny was cut off as the whip dropped it to the ground. He let out a rather girly cry as the whip came down in a lightning fast motion and split it in two.

"My boomerang!" He yelled angrily. Alice's grip tightened as he reared up and began to run on all fours towards Ava. Barley able to hold on, she almost fell off as he darted to the sides to avoid Ava's swift attacks.

"What are you doing!?" Alice shouted, pretty sure that running towards the maniacal killer wasn't a good idea. He sprung up planted his feet firmly on Ava's middle, slamming her to the ground. she gasped as a sickening crack made it's way through the ice.

"Ha!" He yelled rather victoriously and slammed a fist down into the split ice. The ground beneath them instantly gave out and Alice felt him grab her shoulder and throw her forward. A yelp escaped her as she hit the ice in front of them and she tried to grasp the surface so she wouldn't slide forward. She immediately turned around and crawled towards her distressed savior.

"Bloody hell- it's freezing!" He mumble rather loudly as he clawed at the ice, halfway submerged into the water.

"Well-what did you expect?!" She yelled angrily, grunting as she grasped his arm and tried to pull him up.

"Oh I don't know maybe flowers and sunshine?" He yelled back as she pulled him out onto the ice.

"Haha, very funny. Quit complaining and help!"

"What do ya think I'm doi-!" There argument was cut short as he was suddenly jerked back into the water.

"What the hell was that?!" Alice yelled, trying to keep a grip on him. He kicked his submerged foot in the water a couple times.

"Somethin's got my foot!" Alice tried to dig her boots into the ice as she pulled harder but was unable to get any traction on the slippery surface. Her mind panicked trying to think of something as she slid closer to the water.

"Okay, idea. Hold on." She said quickly and let go.

"Hey-!" He shouted as he immediately slid away from her, cursing under his breath as he dug his nails into the ice with an unpleasant screech and quickly halting his advance towards the water.

Alice scrambled toward the edge and plunged her hand into the freezing water. She promptly gasped and pulled it back out, the cold shocking her arm.

'_Tough it out._' She demanded herself and plunged her hand into the water. It was all she could do to make her muscles move as she reached down into the freezing water and tried to find whatever was pulling him down. She barely felt her fingers bump into something and, after some effort, finally wrapped her hand around it. Laying down on her stomach she reached farther down into the water grasped it with both hands and yanked on the steely rope, both arms submerged almost up to her shoulders.

"It wont budge!" She shouted angrily after a couple more yanks. She felt an odd sensation crawling up her arms and tried decided to retreat. Just as she let go the rope traveled up into her sleeves and gripped her arms, slowly starting to pull her down with inhuman strength.

"Uh oh." She muttered, tying to wiggle free.

"Now what!? Whoa-whoa." The bunny yelled back, his nail scraping along the frozen surface before catching again.

Alice's fear began to set in as her face got closer and closer to the water.

"Whats going on back there?"

_'Shit, I'm going to drown.' _She thought over and over, her heart speeding up with panic. She grunted as tried to grab the edge of the ice but just as she touched it with her finger tip she realized she couldn't reach any farther._ 'It's useless.' _She thought hopelessly as she squeezed her eyesand tried to pull away with all of her might_. _The tip of her nose touched the icy water and her eyes shot open.

"**Let go**!" She screamed.

The shadows under the ice suddenly buzzed with life and a abrupt burst of energy rushed out from beneath the dark surface and turned the exposed water black. In a split second she felt the sensation of a million specks of sand rushing past her arms and before she could react, the sensation on her arms changed into a compressed feeling as something began to squeeze onto the surface of her arms. An odd warmth washed over her arms and almost comforted her, giving her the strength to bend her arms. She felt something give and immediately yanked her self up and out of the water, flying back and sliding to a stop. She sat there wide eyed, not trying to control her frantic breathing as she held up her arms to eye length. They were pitch black. She pulled down her sleeve and stared in horror at the sight in front of her, slowly clenching and opening her right hand before turning it around and examining the back. Just as she began to wrap her mind around what she was seeing, the black layer covering her skin suddenly dissolved and fell to the ground, showering her in a short sand waterfall as it rolled off her arms, falling into her sleeves and onto her pants. Alice jerked away away from the black sand and stilled herself, trying to figure out what just happened.

Looking up, she realized the bunny was staring at her with an equally confused expression.

"How...did you do that..?" He asked suspiciously.

_'What...Me? I did that?'_

"I-I don't know." She stuttered and realized she was shaking. She gathered her thoughts and tucked them away before she stood up and and walked over to him, grabbing his arm and helping him up out of the water. She noticed the rope that had bound his foot was gone as she staggered backwards out of his way.

"Great, now I can't feel my feet.." He muttered, hopping twice on one leg and kicking the other out a few times.

It was a strange sight, at least that's what Alice thought, watching a 6 foot tall bunny jump up and down like so, one that she wasn't sure how to react to. He paused for a second in mid jump and stood there, one foot out, his right ear twitching slightly.

"Somethin's up."

A streak of black suddenly streaked by with a loud THRISH and hit the ice next to his foot with a thunk and lost its structure a second later, dissolving on the ground.

"That's are cue." He said rather loudly before grabbing her arm and slinging her behind his shoulder again like rag doll.

"Will you warn me!" She snapped irritatedly.

He ignored her complaint and took off across the ice while two more arrows wooshing by and striking the ice. He jumped up onto the frost covered dirt and stopped at the corner of the bridge.

"Your aim sucks!" He yelled back as he dodged another arrow. Alice scowled but didn't have time to complain as he took off into the tree ridden forest with amazing speed. The wind rushed by so fast Alice could hardly catch her breath. She dared to open her eyes as she felt something whiz past her withing inches of her head. The trees flew by in a blur with lightning speed, it almost felt as if they were flying over the ground. His feet swiftly traveled over the bumpy earth, changing directions every few seconds as trees sped towards them. A chilling laugh suddenly seemed to chuckle from the branches all around them.

"Keep running little bunny."

_'Deeper, and deeper.'_

Alice heard him mutter something incoherent under his breathe. "What?" Alice yelled over the air rushing past them.

"Its getting darker!" He shouted behind his shoulder, although it sounded nothing like what Alice had heard.

"Then turn around! The farther you go in the darker it gets here." She shouted back, suddenly worried by the thought of them getting lost.

"Not enough time."

"Why not?!" Another arrow whizzed by, answering her question. "Oh right. Forgot about that."

"I can't just "turn around" at this speed!" He shouted with an annoyed tone.

The sound of an arrow approaching made her squeeze her eyes shut and she felt him bound to the right as it brushed by her shoulder, a loud ripping sound meeting her ears as it tore through her jacket.

_'Okay that was a bit to close for comfort.'_

"I think they're getting closer." Alice said worriedly, hoping the next one wouldn't hit her. There was no way they could stop now without getting hit.

"The darker it gets, the more advantage she's got. Well, here's goes nothin'!" He suddenly yelled, speeding up as he approached a thickly built tree.

He leaped up to meet the fast approaching tree and powerfully kicked off, a thunderous crack sounding throughout the dense forest as something deep within the dead tree fractured. Just as he propelled off, Alice heard the thunk of an arrow hit the tree just as they took off in the opposite direction.

"That was amazing!" Alice Yelled, unable to contain her enthusiasm.

"I know right! I thought for sure it would go!" He shouted back with a laugh. "Let's hope our luck is just as good the second time!"

As soon as he said this he stopped in his tracks and stood upright. Before she could question his actions Alice heard a light thump on the dirt beneath her, followed by another rush of an arrow. The bunny shot his hand out with lightning speed and Alice realized he had just caught an arrow inches from his chest.

"Buckle up." He with a low voice and a gleam in his eye.

Alice involuntarily tightened her grip and gasped as the ground beneath them suddenly gave out.

* * *

**Late Merry Christmas!**

**It was snowing in my hometown so that was a big plus :D**

**Dang this was a fun chapter to right. Review review silly readers!**

**Hope you had an awesome holiday!**

**3**


	8. Shadows

Alice felt gravity pull them down and she squeezed her eyes shut as the air rushed past them. A light thump followed by an echo of the bunny's feet on the ground drove her to open curious eyes. The first thing she saw was the ground above her head and she instantly ducked her head in fear of hitting the surface that flew by above her.

"Where are we?" She asked quickly and she shrunk down as far as she could.

"Underground. Don't worry, she can't follow us down here and we'll be out before ya know it."

"But how?!" She exclaimed in amazement.

"They don't call me the Easter Bunny for Nothin'." He remarked in a bragging tone.

"Wait, wait, wait-your the Easter Bunny!?" Alice shouted, unable to control the grin of disbelief on her face.

"Does it get any more obvious?" He said with a chuckle.

"You're the Easter Bunny...and you just made a tunnel appear underground." Alice said with awe. "This is amazing!" She exclaimed with a laugh, not caring how crazy it felt even after all that happened to her. The thought of this becoming the norm for her made her light headed an she oddly didn't feel any fear. It was amazing, and she loved it. Her delight was brief though as her smile suddenly faded into a suspicious frown.

"Ya'right back there?" He asked when she suddenly grew quiet.

"Not sure." She answered and strained her eyes to see something in the tunnel of receding darkness. Alice could of sworn she heard something over the echoes.

"There it is again." She murmured softly as she studied the darkness. A small flittering sound, almost like a snakes hiss, emerged in the distance behind them. It faint and short, leaving Alice to question if she was hearing things.

"There it is! Do you here it?" She half shouted when the noise returned. It almost sounded as if it was growing nearer and Alice felt fear start to grip in her chest as she slightly straightened up.

"I don't hear anything. Are you sure you're ok?"

Alice didn't reply for a moment. "...How can you not hear that!?" She yelled when she heard it again.

"Look, we're almost there just sit tight."

Alice scowled, not appreciating being talked down as if she was sick.

"...Stop."

"What?"

"I said stop!"

"No, we're almost there! What is it?!"

"Just stop and I'll show you!"

In an attempt to ignore her he decided not to answer, hoping she would give up..

"If you don't I swear I will jump off." She threatened.

With an irritated groan the bunny slowed to a standstill and Alice dropped off as soon as he stopped, using the wall next to her to support her shaky legs. It was moist and soft under her touch but Alice didn't take the time to admire the scenery of the moss covered tunnels.

"Okay we stopped. Now what are ya on about?" He asked, obviously not happy not happy with her demands.

"Just wait." She said tensely while and watched the darkness carefully.

"I don't see-"

"Just shhh!" She said with an annoyed wave of her hand, not taking her eyes of the blackness.

A few moments passed before the sound appeared again, sending a chilling rush down her spine. Her eyes narrowed as something in the darkness shifted. The bunny immediately stepped forward and pushed her back with his paw.

"There." She whispered. A sleek black shadow slithered out of the darkness and quickly slinked towards them.

"That's weird." He muttered and stepped forward as it neared. "I should'a been able to hear that." The sliver of sand came to a stop in front of him.

"Well ain't that cute." The bunny remarked comically. It was quite small, maybe a foot in length.

It sat for a moment before slithering right up to him without a a seconds hesitation, only stopping as the bunny raised a foot and stomped down on it.

"Hey, what the.." He uttered as it seeped out from under his furry foot and quickly began to slither in circles around him. Alice felt her fear gradually disappear and even found herself chuckling at the sight of the bunny squirming.

"This isn't funny." He snapped, not pleased with how she was handling their situation. "If this little thing was able to get in then she might be able to track us." He abruptly thumped his foot on the ground, making the black sand momentarily back up from him cautiously as the tunnel walls in front of them began to dissolve and close together which eventually sealed off the rest of the tunnel.

"I thought you said she couldn't follow us here." Alice recalled, trying to put on a serious face but utterly failing when the black slither of sand suddenly stood up and took a small slinky-like hop towards him as if it were standing up to him. She tried to stifle her laugh as he warily backed away from it and cleared his throat.

"Well not here she can't but as soon as we get to the top that's a different story. This little bugger must'a managed to squeeze in at the last second." He explained while casting an annoyed glance towards her and crossing his arms. "But before we do that we gotta get rid of this thing." He finished.

At this the the black sand straightened out in a surprised manner and quickly slithered behind Alice's boot.

"I don't know I think it's kinda cute..." Alice remarked as she bent around to look at it, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Not it's not cute. Did ya forget that that that-that thing was just trying to kill us?" He asked, pausing mid way as he searched for the right words. Alice watched it carefully as it slithered up her leg and made its way to her shoulder and fidgeted around before slouching in a somewhat comfortable position. _'What's his deal?_' Alice thought. She didn't know where all this hate was coming from, but it sounded pretty important.

"Will you get that thing off of ya?!" He shouted and reached out to grab it, apparently not fond with her liking towards it. The slither of sand straightened out and swiftly lashed out towards the his paw making him quickly retreat with an agitated grunt.

"It doesn't seem to like you very much." Alice observed with a chuckle and daringly held her hand up to poke it's middle. A hole formed when she touched it and her finger went straight through.

"Well the feelin's neutral." He muttered. She smiled slightly as it backed up and swiftly poked her back.

"Oh come on, look at it. It's not that bad." She cooed.

Yes, it is." He said sternly and crossed his arms again. Alice's smile disappeared and she suddenly felt she was being naive. The term, "A child playing with power tools," crossed her mind and she sighed as she realized she was loosing.

"I'll keep an eye on it, I swear." She bargained. "Besides wouldn't you want this thing to study or something? You know, the whole know your enemy thing."

"I don't want nothin to do with that thing and I sure as hell don't want to know anything about it." He replied, this time with venom in his voice.

"Come on, You're scared of this little thing?" She asked, trying to play into his pride before she gave it a little poke again.

"Better safe then sorry."

Alice searched her mind for the right words.

"Look ya don't know this stuff like I do." He said in a more tender tone. "Trust me, that thing's dangerous."

Her eyes fell to the ground as she considered his words.

"Besides, it's not safe to go around making girly attachment with things like that." He added.

Alice paused for a moment as she took in his words. Without a word she turned and started back down the tunnel.

"Hey-where are ya going!?" He asked with a surprised tone.

"I thought we were in a hurry." She snapped.

"Oh come on! What did I say?" He shouted, hectically throwing his paws out in from of him as he hopped to her side. "Was it the girly thing? If it was then I assure ya, you're not feminine at all." He shouted quickly in a horrible attempt to save himself.

"Ugh!" She groaned and sped up.

He stopped and angrily mumbled something under his breathe about girls before catching up.

"If it does anything to threaten anyone then take it down. Other wise it might be useful." She said coldly although she could hardly think of anything it could do to be useful.

"Fine but this is on you."

"Wouldn't have it any other way. She informed him and stole a glance at the thing on her shoulder. She quickly diverted her eyes as its top half turned towards her. The bunny now in front of her mumbled something about being to slow before she noticed the tunnel starting to slowly curve up. The elevation rose more and more until she was using her hands to aid her climb and noticed the bunny was no longer in sight. Looking back Alice noticed the space behind her was pitch black and nervously continued towards the dull light ahead. She climbed farther up the steep wall and turned a sharp corner as the tunnel grew narrow and was suddenly hit by a blinding light. A huge warm hand suddenly gripped her wrist as she shielded her eyes and pulled her up into a more spacious atmosphere. She squinted at the lumbering figure of red and black in front of her and rubbed her eyes in an attempt to clear her vision.

"Welcome!" A booming voice exclaimed above her, the sound of it very nearly knocking her over.

"What..?" Alice asked dizzily as the glares of light began to shrink. "... Whoa."

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**I know it's a little short, but this was a pretty fun chapter to write. :D Thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate it! :3**


	9. (AN)

Hey guys Sorry about the mix up on chapters somehow my new chapter was deleted and somehow the title of the NEW chapter replaced he previous one which is why I posted that chapter instead...ugh that whole chapter just gone T.T how irritating. Well sorry again I'm working on the next chapter as soon as I finish this. Thanks for letting me know! 3


	10. Tinker Toys

**Sorry if my story seems to be going slow. I'm actually just trying to keep a steady pace you know I'm not trying to rush things and I want things to be consentient, but don't worry I have the whole plot already in my head, just gotta get it on screen :3 Anyways less talk more read! :D**

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"Who are you?" Alice asked with a confused air.

"St. Nicholas North, at your service." He boomed proudly. "But you may call me North."

"St. Nicholas...? You mean like Santa Claus?" She suddenly noticed the the huge room she was in and her question ended with her gaping like a fish.

"I have gone by many a name." He said heartily as Alice gawked at the room around her. He turned his attention to the bunny thumping impatiently behind them.

"Aster! To what to I owe this pleasure?" North inquired with his hands spread out in a welcoming gesture.

"An explanation..." The bunny grumbled. "How did she get'er hands on a buzzer?"

"A buzzer?" North asked with a touch of curiosity as he turned to Alice and stroked his beard. "Aha! You must be Alice then!" He suddenly shouted as if he had solved some great puzzle. Alice jumped and momentarily took her eyes off of the scenery to question him.

"Uh yea...How do you know who I am?" Alice thought the question sounded a bit dumb, given that if he really was Santa Claus he would know everyone's name...if that was even possible.

"Jack came to with quite a story." He chuckled. Alice went silent for a moment as she remembered the white haired boy and his cool headed personality.

"Where am I?"

"Oh come on everyone knows where Santa's workshop is." The bunny said sarcastically.

"The North pole...?" Alice's question slowly faded and turned into a silent look of shock. She felt her legs suddenly go weak as she realized how far she was from home.

_'I rode almost halfway across the world on the back of a bunny that can make holes appear underground. Ash is gonna be ticked...'_

"But we do introductions later, first things first." He said quickly. "Why don't you sit down, this must be a little...different for you." He offered, and gestured towards a chair. "Medic!"

"Believe me, I'm getting used to it." She muttered.

A few moments later a yeti with dark brown fur came bounding in from the huge doorway to their right. Alice's eyes widened in surprise.

"What. Is that." Alice stuttered as the Yeti stopped in front of them with a small white medic box that looked comically small in his large furry hands. The yeti's expression went from curious to unamused.

""That" is actually a he." North corrected as he pushed her towards the yeti. "Alice, meet our medic, Ogden."

"Ok then. What is "he." Alice whispered behind her shoulder rather loudly.

"Why, he is a yeti." North replied as if it where some common knowledge that everyone knew but her.

"You mean like Bigfoot?" The yeti's eyes narrowed even further to her response.

"Ha, Ha! You are very funny." North said with a hearty laugh as he walked her away from the yeti and over to a small chair and table. Alice sat down reluctantly and watched the yeti warily as he set down the kit and began to rummage through it, his unamused expression unwavering. He suspiciously raised a rather large syringe and glanced at her from the corner of her eye before setting it back down and choosing a small towel instead.

"Yup that'll do it." Alice said to herself and quickly closed kit and swiped it away from the yeti before he could react. Her actions resulted in a rather girly shout from him as she quickly scooted away with his precious box. "Aaactually, I would rather take care of it myself..." Alice started with a nervous laugh. "Is there a bathroom around here somewhere?"

"Are you sure? Is really no problem." North offered and the yeti promptly grunted something in agreement and crossed his massive arms.

"Absolutely." She replied and put on a fake smile as she scooted towards the huge doorway without turning her back on the three.

"Aw come on girly, he don't bite." The bunny said humorously as he hopped over to the yeti and nudged him.

"I'm sure he doesn't." She muttered in a tone that said "your not helping."

"Very well. lavatory is to nearest right. Come Bunnymund, let us talk."

"Thanks!" Alice shouted quickly as she disappeared behind the huge doors, desperate to get away from their studying eyes.

"Take care not to get lost!" North yelled to her as she departed and a now faraway groan from the yeti made her chuckle in triumph as she walked off with his precious box of supplies.

"I won't!" She shouted back with an almost playful smile when she saw the full extent of the place she was in. Another warning about elves went over her head as his voice faded behind her.

"Whoa..." She breathed as she walked next to the red velvet wall and lightly slid her free hand along it. The whole place was alive. An array of sounds and smells buzzed in the air as Alice walked over to the rail. She was in what looked to be a hallway except for the lack of wall on the left side where there was instead a beautiful chestnut colored wooden rail with swirled rods of green metal that twirled downward as a barrier. The floor she was on, or balcony whichever it was, stretched around in a complete circle and Alice noticed a huge circular space in the middle where a feather was gently falling down before it disappeared as it passed her floor. As she approached the rail Alice looked up to see floors exactly the same as the one she was on that traveled all the way up to the ceiling which looked miles away. The whole building was like a giant cylinder, if it could even be called a building. She put her foot up on one the the rail and leaned over to get a better look at the floor bellow her. Her breath caught in her lungs and she instinctively gripped the rail tighter and backed up slightly when she saw the distance from the ground up.

"That's a long fall..." Alice muttered.

Directly bellow her more floors stretched down to the floor, but these floors she could actually see. More yetis ran about busily below her. A flash a white passed in front of her face and Alice noticed two white feathers fall within inches of her face and slowly descend. Upon looking up she saw a few more fall over the edge of the floor above her. As another feather passed in front of her she blew a puff of air in its direction and smiled slightly as it whirled and spun in the air before falling back into a slow graceful descent. The way the light softly reflected of its white feature almost seemed like a picture from a movie.

She felt the strange sense of being watched and turned her attention back to the floor directly across and below her and noticed a yeti had stopped in mid stride and studied at her with a strange look. His fur was much lighter than Ogden's and he was carrying a tall stack of boxes that looked if they might fall if he moved to quickly. Their eyes met and Alice froze and wondered if he should step off the rail and back away. Instead she raised a hand and gave him a small wave and an awkward smile. The yeti slowly raised a confused hand in another awkward exchange and the sudden movement caused the boxes on top to wobble and tumble down. The yeti quickly reached out to catch it in a desperate attempt to save the doomed boxes but the attempt only furthered his downfall.

Alice watched the cringe-worthy event with anticipation until every box but one had fallen. Various objects and tinker toys rolled out onto the ground as a few of the boxes burst open and spilled their contents. Alice leaned over as far as she could

"Sorry!" She yelled as apologetically as she could in hopes the yeti would here her She heard a distant groan as the yeti began to pick up the mess. With a sigh Alice stepped away from the balcony and continued down her floor.

_'I don't seem to be getting off to a very good start.'_

She arrived at a hallway to her right and quickly turned the corner before stopping suspiciously. The dark hallway in front of her seemed to stretch on for hundreds of feet and the only light she could see was a distant square of white at the end.

_'Nearest right...'_ she thought sourly and reluctantly began to walk down the hall. The light began to recede quickly and Alice noticed something strangely brush against her shoulder. She glanced down to see the black sliver of sand had returned.

"Oh. I forgot about you." Alice said in a low voice without slowing her pace. It didn't seem to respond so Alice turned her attention ahead of her again, throwing a few glances at it as they continued down the hall. She noticed a dim light ahead as she approached the midway point and two signs on the opposite walls eventually came into view. As she grew closer she noticed the light source was a dim lamp hanging from the ceiling that emitted a yellowish glow. The signs on either side said "MEN" and "WOMAN" and Alice stopped in front of the bathroom door. She hadn't noticed it until now, but the hall was eerily quiet, and the low lighting wasn't helping her already weary nerves. The sliver of sand shuffled impatiently on her shoulder.

"Why are you here?" Alice asked softly without taking her eyes of the dim light. Nothing.

"I thought you would say that." She said with an almost sad smile before pushing the door open. A bright white light flooded the hall and Alice almost felt the need to shield her eyes from the sudden change. She shuddered as the sand quickly retread into her jacket and brushed by back of her shoulder before she could no longer feel it. Alice wasn't sure if she should protest against its hiding spot, but she didn't much care for the moment. She walked into the white tiled room and admired the cleanness before spotting the long sink that stretched across the wall with an equally long mirror above it. After setting the medical kit down on the sink she finally forced herself to gaze at her reflection. Her hair was a bit messy but overall she didn't look as crappy as she felt. The damp spots on her legs and elbows had already dried and her tan jacket and black jeans seemed mostly clean and free of dirt. A few seconds of studying herself passed before she sighed again and turned on the sink. As the water warmed Alice rummaged through the kit and found a bandage along with some antibiotics and a small white towel. She slowly wet her hand and wiped away the dried blood, and finally was able to see the actual wound itself. It wasn't the three long slices on the back of her hand that made her stomach twist, nor was it the obvious purple discoloration around the scratches. But buried in the slits on her hand she could see little grains of black sand. Alice bitterly pulled a pair of tweezers for the kit, leaned over, and steadied herself with a sigh before hovering over the wound with the small silver tweezers.

After a short pause she gently lowered it over a single speck of sand and tried to pick it up with the best pin point accuracy she could manage. As soon as the cold metal made contact with the small particle a ripping pain seared through each one of her cuts and made her drop the tweezers with a hiss of pain. Her fingers twitched and stiffened as the sensation of millions of ice cold needles were stabbing into the gashes of her hand and ripping them open again. With a another short gasp Alice clutched her wrist tightly and slightness pleaded for the nerves in her hand to calm as she doubled over and squeezed her eyes shut. After what seemed like minutes the sharp pain slowly calmed into an intense burning and then into a warm throbbing. With a shaky breathe Alice propped herself up slowly on her elbow and silently cursed herself before carefully wrapping the bandage firmly around her hand.

_'There is no way I'm doing that again. Looks like I'm gonna have to get it looked at after all...'_ She thought bitterly before closing up the kit and exiting into the dark hallway. The thought of the creepy medic yeti standing over her threatenly with a giant needle made her chuckle as she slowly closed the door behind her. She looked to her right and then her left and contemplated what was on the other side of the hall. With another curious smile Alice took off jogging down the hall in an attempt to brighten her mood, but mostly out of curiosity. The hall quickly grew brighter as she reached the end and emerged on the other side.

"Exactly the same..." She muttered as she walked up to the rail of the balcony. The room was exactly the same as the one on the other side. Alice briefly scanned the busy floors bellow and beneath her before looking directly across her to see another hallway that stretched into another part of the building which she assumed looked similar to the one here and before. In fact now that she took a good look around she could see the circular floor she was on had three of these hallways.

_'Just how many of these building are there?'_ She wondered in as she started back down the hallway she had come from, not content on getting lost.

Unbeknownst to her a small elf clutched tightly onto the back of her boot with a rather large cookie clutched between its teeth.

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**Finally rewrote the chapter. It doesn't feel as solid as the last but its here and its not to shabby if I do say so mysef. Sorry about the long wait, school is absolutely killing me. Seriously I hate getting up when its still dark out and the homework is crazy. Anyways I promise not to make a habit of these pauses :\**

**If you haven't notice Alice is quite a curious character. She actually reminds me a lot of a good friend of mine :)**

**Anywho...review review! I love those things they fill me with joy. x3**


	11. Dark Dopplegangers

By the time Alice had gotten back to the room she had first arrived their wasn't a soul in sight. She walked towards a set of stairs with an irritated disposition. _'Whats the point of telling someone not to get lost if you weren't even going to stay in one place?_' The short ascending stairs led to a rather large window with beautiful painted glass. Alice didn't bother trying to make out the fragmented picture as she sat on the window sill, put her feat up in front of her and slouched against the wall behind her while making sure to prop her injured hand up on her knee. She noticed the air was significantly colder near the window as she leaned her head against the chilly glass and saw it was completely dark out.

"Great." She whispered bitterly. Not really knowing the time zones (she may of fallen asleep during that art of Earth Science) or what time it even was here or where she lived it was impossible for her to know how late it was. The sensation of something slithering up her shoulder suddenly freaked her out before the sliver of sand slid down her arm and rested on her knee.

"Dark enough for you then?" She said with smile and poked it. It shuddered and pushed her finger away, which Alice assumed meant it wasn't a big fan of being poked.

"I see you have everything taken care of?" Alice jumped as Norths voice suddenly woke her from her daze.

"Yea." She said quickly and looked from her little companion to North in worry. "_What would they think, anyway?"_

"So this is our strange guest?" He said suspiciously and narrowed his eyes. Although he seemed wary Alice noticed a glint of curiosity in his eyes. "Bunny doesn't not seem to be a fan. I must admit I'm a bit wary to."

"It really isn't that bad." Alice defended and gave it another poke to demonstrate. She chuckled when it twitched and jumped up in aggravation before settling down again. Upon looking up she felt slightly relieved to see a small smile on his face.

"Yes, it seems to of taking a liking to you. That does not seem to happen often."

"Often?"

"Well, more like never." He said with a wave of his hand.

"Oh." Alice looked held her hand out to the black sand and watched distantly as it twirled round her fingers and rested in her hand

"You do know that will lead her straight here, do you?" He asked.

"I don't think so." Alice paused for a few seconds before deciding that may of needed explaining. "For some reason, when ever she is about to show up or when ever she is near, I get this sick feeling, almost like that feeling when you are alone in the dark and you are telling yourself "There's nothing there, just calm down." and then you hear something move."

"Fear." North observed.

"Yea. But whenever this thing pops out, it just a a little surprising. No weird vibe, no fear, just this." She raised her hand and as she stared at it blankly.

"And yet you say this while holding the essence of fear in your hand. It is a bit hard to believe, da?"

"And yet here I am sitting in by a window at the North Pole talking to Santa Clause." She looked up with a smile.

He laughed."Yes it would seem so." Alice joined him with a small chuckle pushed her hair out of he eyes.

"It's hard to explain. It just doesn't...feel bad."

"I am almost surprised to say I agree." North replied, much to her surprise.

A few seconds of awkward silence followed.

"Though I do have strange feeling about you, Alice." North said in a calm tone.

"Really? Thanks, that just about made my day." She said sarcastically, figuring his statement wasn't exactly a compliment. "And hows that?"

"I just know." He said with a smile this time and patted his belly.

"Well that's-ow! What the-!" Alice cried out when something suddenly tugged on her hair, _hard_. She instantly reached behind her and grabbed whatever was clinging to her golden locks.

"What the heck?" She shouted as she raise up the guilty elf.

"What have I told you about hair and fur?" North said suddenly and grabbed the elf by its hat and held it up threateningly. The elf sheepishly put on a even guiltier look and diverted its eyes down at its small hands as it rocked back and forth in the air. "Hair and fur is off limits." The elf rolled its eyes and nodded before impatiently, kicking its feet and thrashing it's arms. North sighed and set it down next to her.

"Sorry about that. They can be a little...energetic at times." He said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Is it an elf? How do they make the toys if their so small?" Alice asked and held her arm out and away from her as the elf began to climb up her sleeve.

"They are actually quite skilled in-" North said this first part a bit over enthusiastically before covering the elf's ears and leaning in. The little guys face turned to an expression of awe as his world suddenly grew quiet. "That's actually the yeti's job." he whispered with a wink.

"Oh." Alice smiled. The elf snapped out of its daze when North removed his hands continued its climb to her hand and peeked over her finger with curious eyes and tried to get a better look at the sand in her hand.

The curious moment quickly ended as Bunnymund suddenly hopped through the doors and stopped with an irritated twitch of his ears.

"There you are! Didn't we say not to get lost?" He said as he quickly hopped over to them and stopped next to the wall.

"I didn't get lost." She snapped. As they quarreled the elf climbed into her hand and tried to playfully grab the sand in a hug, only to have it dissolve and solidify again a few inches away from it on her knee. It promptly followed it and the little game of chase and catch went on for minute or two without anyone noticing.

"Hmph, so that little buggers still here is it?" He said after taking a small step back. "So what are we gonna do about that." He spoke this last part as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms in a "tough guy" stance.

"It's not doing anything wrong-"

"Yet." Bunnymund interrupted her. "It's probably acting all innocent 'cause that want it wants you to think it is."

"Your just being paranoid." Alice muttered and slumped even further int the wall.

"Didn't you see that bloodthirsty nut job we were runnin' from? You would be worried to if you weren't so busy being all wide eyed and whimsy!" Alice's expression grew angry as his voice got louder.

"Friends, friends, lets not fight. We are here to discuss right?" North said and held his hands out to them. They continued to glare at each other but neither of them spoke. The elf who had took notice of there heated conversation stuck its tongue out at the bunny, who didn't seem to notice.

"Now Alice please start from begining."

"The begining?"

"Yes, when you first saw this woman." North replied.

"Ava."

"Yes, Ava."

Alice sighed and began to retell the events that passed the night before and earlier that day. As Alice explained the part where bunnymund came in he quickly added. "And she broke my boomerang! Right in two! Snapped right in half..." he slumped a bit as he mumbled this last part.

"Yea that was the obviously casualty of today." Alice said sarcastically.

"Hmph." Bunnymund nodded his head in agreement leading Alice to wonder if he actually caught her sarcasm. Alice noticed North's expression furrow as she struggled to explain the strange moment when they tried to escape from the sand that was pulling them into the water.

"Does this mean you can manipulate the nightmare sand?" North asked as he subconsciously stroked his beard. She wasn't sure if it was the look they were giving her or the tone in his voice but she suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"Well I...I didn't..." Alice stuttered.

'_What exactly did I do?_'

"I don't know what happened. All I know is I was trying to stay alive." She shoved her trembling hands in her pockets and tarted to stare blankly at the air in front of her.

"Aren't we all." Bunnymund muttered without taking his eyes off the floor.

"Alice," She knew by the tone of North's voice this wasn't going to be good, "This is very dangerous matter you are involved in. This isn't like Sandy's dreamsand. Nightmares are like a cancer. It can take hold and consume you." Alice continued to stare ahead as she took in his words before looking back out the window

"It's night out... does that mean Sandy will come by?" She asked in a sullen voice. North sighed and pinched the the top of his nose below his eyes, obviously not to content with the subject change.

"Well, night actually lasts about six months here, but recent events might drive him to make a visit, so perhaps."

"Well if I'm gonna be waiting then I'll need to make a call."

"Your welcome to stay of course. What region do you reside in?"

"Um...I live in the U.S..." Alice said slowly, not really used to being asked that question.

"Hmmm...I see. Yes we will arrange for phone call."

A yeti suddenly approached holding a sleek brown box and shuffled his feet impatiently as he handed it to North.

"Ah yes! About time to." His mood seemed to change so quickly Alice was barley able to keep up.

"I usually do not approved of opening presents before Christmas but I think we can make tiny exception. Just this once of course He said with a wink and pushed the box into Bunnymund's paws.

"For me?" He said cautiously and held it out as if he expected it to explode. Alice sat up and crossed her legs with a curious smile, savoring the alarmed expression on his face.

"What is it like some kind of knitted sweater or somethin..." He muttered and tried to peak into the box without opening the lid too high.

"Not quite..." North said with a smile and crossed his arms. The bunny's curiosity finally got the better of him as he opened the lid and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Crikey!" He exclaimed and held up two smoothly polished grey boomerangs bound in a red bow. There where designs along the arch that looked similar to the markings on his fur "You made me a new boomerangs?" He held it up in the light and examined it's edges with a gleam in his eyes similar to that look a kid would have when he gets a new toy.

"Enchanted boomerangs." North corrected. "I noticed the old one seemed to be loosing their effect, most likely due to age, so I figured you would be needing a new one. Though I didn't think it would be this soon."

"Look how aerodynamic-and the curve and weight of the elbow..." The bunny mused, not paying full attention to Norths details. "Cant wait to try these babies out." He suddenly became aware of the stares from the three around him and cleared his throat and stood up straight. "Erm-thanks. Appreciate it."

"Don't mention it." North said with a laugh and clapped a hand on his furry shoulder. "Now Alice if you will follow our friend here we will get you to phone, though you might have to wait awhile for the call to go through."

"Right-o." Alice said and eagerly jumped off the window ledge. She began to follow the yeti to the door when she suddenly heard Bunnymund yell, "Duck!"

A second after she ducked her head a boomerang whizzed over he and circled back to it's owner. She quickly spun around and sent him a glare filled with razor sharp daggers.

"Just tryin' it out." He said with a coy smirk.

**~0~0~0~0~0~0~0**

On their way to their destination Alice passed more yetis, busy at work, and even glimpsed into what looked like a rather large kitchen. As the yeti led her down another hallway he approach a gap in a railing of the balcony and suddenly disappeared over the edge. Alice's eye went as wide as a lemurs and she ran up to the rail, expecting to see something horrible below her. She felt a A sense of relief washed over her when she saw him standing perfectly safe below her motioning for her to come down. She sent him a look that said 'Are you crazy?!' before spotting a golden pole that descended down to the ground for what looked like miles to her. 'There is no way I'm sliding down that.' Alice thought nervously as she peered down at the ground. She wasn't one to be squeamish around heights, but she also wasn't one to press her luck. The yeti crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatient as he looked up at her and once again pointed to the ground. Alice groaned nervously and carefully began to climb over the edge. _'Would it kill these people to install elevators or maybe just get a ladder?'_ Clinging tightly to the pole she looked down at the ground and slowly loosened her grip. In a matter of seconds the wind rushed past her and Alice found herself slowing down inches above the ground before dropping off. The yeti gave her a quick thumbs up before turning and leading the way yet again with marching behind him, her feet light and with a small dash of pride for her small feat.

They finally arrived at a smaller room and that was scattered with papers and wires and the yeti sat down and began to fiddle with a switchboard. A few elves that had been following them along the way quickly began to surround Alice, one going as far as to try to take her boot. After a few quiet minutes of struggling with the mischievous creatures the yeti was able to get a hold of the number requested and quickly handed her the phone and walked out of the room.

"Anyways..." Alice muttered as the door closed behind him, a little confused as to why he departed so suddenly. The phone was quiet for a few moments and she sat down when she started to fear no one would answer.

"Hello?" Relief flooded over her when the familiar voice chirped over the phone.

"Alo? Can you here me?"

"Alice? Why does your voice sound weird? And why does it say International Calling on the I.D.?"

"Um, I'll explain later. What time is it?" She asked urgently, sitting up and straitening the cord out as an elf tried to jump up and grab it.

"Uhhmmm-8:13 Why?"

"Ok great." Alice said and decided to stand up as another elf began to climb her leg in an effort to reach the phone cord. "I need you to call Ashley and tell her I crashed at your place."

"Why? Where are you?" A hint of worry tainted in her voice.

"I'm fine, really-will you get off!?" Alice shook her boot in the air and the elf lost his grip and fell to the floor but promptly began to advance again.

"Whats wrong? Is someone with you?" Alo said quickly when she heard her outburst.

"No-no, everything's fine..." Alice said with a fake laugh and stepped to the side to avoid the elf. "Just a _very annoying _cat." She said as with as much emphasis a possible as she leaned down and picked up the elf and set him down on a chair.

"I thought you don't have a cat?"

"Would I be asking to cover for me if I was home?" Alice snapped.

"Oh, right."

"Can you please call her for me?"

"Yea yea, but What do I say if she wants to talk to you?"

Alice thought for a moment. "Just tell her fell asleep, she knows I was up early so she'll believe it."

"Okay you clever little girl." Alo said in a playful tone. "You sure you're alright? This isn't like you..."

"Yea absolutely, I promise I'll explain later."

"Is it a boy?" She asked teasingly.

"What?-no! No it's nothing like that."

"Sure, sure. Just make sure to fill me in on the details later." Alice could practically hear her wink.

"It's not a boy, Alo." Alice sighed, placing her elbow up on the desk and putting her face in her hand in a dramatic facepalm.

"Whatever you saaay." She taunted with a sing song voice. "I'm calling you tomorrow though."

"You better." Alice threatened. A depressed nagging feeling pulled at her heart as she noticed their conversation begin to end.

"See ya later."

"Yea. Later." Seconds later an audible click traveled across the line and then silence. She sat there with the phone still pressed against her ear, hoping maybe she would hear something, or maybe someone would randomly call and tell her what to do. The static suddenly was cut short when an elf managed to get his hands on the cord and yank it out. She picked it up by the bell on the top of its hat and held it up as it busily gnawed at the cord, paying her no mind.

"You are _extremely_ annoying." Alice said in an unamused tone. The elf ignored her until she plucked the cord from its mouth and gave him a little poke.

"Are you trying to get electrocuted?" She half shouted. The little man narrowed his eyes and Alice extended her hand away as he tried to reach for her hair. After putting the elf back down she turned to leave when a pen suddenly hit her shoulder. She turned around with a look on her face that can only be described as the look a tiger has after being poked and saw the elf holding his arms up in the air with a pouty expression on his face similar to that of a kid wanting to be picked up. Alice sighed and stood over him with her arms crossed and gave him a stern look.

"Do you promise not to pull my hair?" She asked strictly. The elf lowered his arms and thought for a moment before nodding his head quickly and stretching them back out. She wondered if he had even understood her question but finally broke when the elf began to do little jumps.

"Fine. But hands off the hair." She said and picked the elf up again, making sure pushed her hair to one side before placing him on her shoulder and heading for the door. In front of her three more elves started to jump up and down with their arms outstretched.

"No." She said and stepped over them. Disappointed whines followed her out the door and the elf on her shoulder turned around made a rather loud raspberry at them as she left the room. Her surroundings where busy and no one seemed to pay her mind as she wandered past the yetis tinkering with toys and rushing past her.

_'Now what am I supposed to do?'_ She was beginning to get tired of asking herself that question. In fact, being rather useless was starting to get on her nerves too. It felt like she was merely stumbling through life, not really getting anywhere or affecting anything. Even though pretty amazing things where happening at the moment, it didn't really seem like she had any control over anything. She would probably be dead if it weren't for these "Guardians" showing up when they did.

_'Guardian.'_ The word had a nice ring to it. Almost a noble feeling. Alice sat down with her legs crossed on a bench against a wall and watched the room buzz with an almost detached feeling. The elf on her shoulder hopped down and stood on her knee with his arms crossed and gave her an irritated expression, making Alice smile.

"What are you looking at?" She chuckled and gave his bell a little flick. The elf swatted her hand away and pointed in the directing she had been heading.

"I'm not a taxi you know. Besides even if I was I wouldn't know where to go." She sighed. The elf studied her for a few moments and plopped down with a ticked expression.

"There's no pleasing you is there?" She asked before noticing something brush by her neck.

"Here." She said and reached up for the sand that lingered on her shoulder in an attempt to cheer him up after remembering how interested the last elf was. The little guys expression went from unhappy to mesmerized in an instant when she lowered her hand to show him shifting darkness. After a few seconds of stillness Alice was worried nothing would happen.

'Well do something.' She thought irritatedly and the sand suddenly began to shift and take form. Alice's eyes widened as it compressed into an exact copy of the elf.

"Well that's new." She observed and raised a curious eyebrow. The elf was certainly more responsive than her as he reached up and poked the dark doppelganger on the arm with a smile that could light up a whole room up. The replica twitched before leaning down and poking the elf back, though it lacked the smile and cheery attitude. Alice realized it was actually very creepy looking. Even though it looked just like him, it was absent of color, expression, and well...life. There was something very dark about it. A small feeling of ease came over her when the sand in her hand suddenly scattered and settled back into a noodle like appearance, much to the elf's dismay.

"Sorry little guy but I don't think there's much I can do about it." She chuckled with a sad smile when his pouty face returned as he poked the sand but received no response Alice suddenly noticed something move out of the corner of her eye and diverted her eyes from the scene in her lap. Her smile instantly dropped when she saw Sandy floating a few feet in front of her with wide unblinking eyes and a very alarmed look in his face.

_Shit._

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**I cant imagine Sandy would be to happy if you were sitting with an elf, on a bench, playing with nightmare sand. Anywho, new chapter soon. so stay tuned. :P**


	12. Charades

**I have this whole great story just sitting in my head and it's killing me to go chapter by chapter D:**

**Oh well it must be done. Besides what kind of writer would i be if I spoiled everything in less than a minute.**

***Falls to the ground dramatically in impatience* xD**

* * *

_'Its not what it looks like...Its not what it looks like. Say it out loud then, idiot!' _

Alice mentally fought with herself but she couldn't quite get the words out of her mouth. The two faced each other in a tense silence for what seemed like hours to Alice as she struggled to make her lips move. The elf in her lap looked from one horrified face to the other and decided it would be smart to jump down and retreat behind her.

"Wait!"

Alice found her voice when Sandy suddenly lashed out and seized the blackness in her hand with a vine of dream sand. In a split second the shocked expression on his face changed to one of angered confusion, a look that didn't suit him to well.

"Let me explain!" Alice shouted furiously and stood up with her hands clenched tightly into fists. It was bad enough she didn't understand anything that was happening, but now he had just snatched the only thing she had that could help her determine what exactly this stuff was right out of her hands. The stream of golden sand held its unmoving captive high over his head and gripped it tighter when the anger in his face deepend and a question mark condensed above him.

_'Explain what?'_ She thought. The passion in her blue eyes quickly dimmed upon this sudden awareness and she sat back down uncomfortably and looked down at her hands, unable to make eye contact.

"Actually, I can't." Alice said slowly. "Well I can, but-" Alice looked up halfway through her explanation and gasped. Somehow the nightmare sand was able to wiggle from the golden grasp and began to gently float to the ground only to be swiftly impaled through its middle. The rather violent action left Alice sitting in a shocked silence. The dark sand jiggled for a moment before casually wrapping around the tendril of dream sand and materializing back into it's noodle like form on top of it. Sandy's brow twitched in irritation and with a quick movement of his hand the dream sand quickly withdrew and stabbed through it's center again. The black sand once again repeated it's previous action and sat perched on the glistening sand. Two blinks was all it took for the anger to leave his golden eyes which then widened a little as he realized things weren't what they seemed. He seemed to relax some although he was still wary. Without a word Alice got up and walked towards her confused friend and her movement appeared to catch the black sands attention. In a fluid movement the sand melted and fell to the ground before solidifying back into it's original shape. Alice sat down on the ground with and held her hand out.

"See? It's different somehow." She said softly as the sand enthusiastically jumped into her hand without seeming to hold a grudge. Sandy floated over to her and Alice held it out with in hopes he would understand. He stopped in front of her and gave her a suspicious worry filled frown in which she responded with a reassuring grin. He reluctantly sat down in front of her and cautiously reached out. A golden strand gently formed above his palm and reached out and poked the black substance. Alice smiled as she waited for it to respond but nothing happened.

"Hm. It usually pokes back." She said and as if on cue the black sand quickly shot out and poked his finger, making Sandy flinch away with a surprised look. Alice laughed when his eyes narrowed, obviously bitter towards being bested. After deciding things were safe enough at the moment he relaxed again and sat with his arms crossed before a stern look crossed his face and another question flashed over his head.

_'Great, I was hoping I wouldn't have to be the one to explain things.'_

"Well, you see...I went for a walk this morning...actually not this morning, since morning here only happens every six months apparently..." Sandy raised an eyebrow as she started to ramble.

"Right, well you get the picture. Anyways I saw that girl again, you know the crazy one, and she talked to me. Some kind of nonsense about the sand, she really wasn't making sense at all. Then before I could get away she was right in front of me." You would think having to explain the same thing over again would help lessen the feeling of anxiety that started easing into her mind. The figure of a person running and another question mark flashed over Sandy's and he titled his head with a frown.

"It's kind of hard to run when your sitting in the middle of a frozen lake." Alice muttered when she caught onto his question. Sandy raised his hands in front of him, palms up, and his face twisted as if to say "What?" An image of the device Jack gave her flashed over his head.

"Yeeeah, I might need to clarify there too." she said slowly and rubbed the back of her neck. "And I'm getting to that part. There was this black cat stuck on the ice which turned out not to be an actual cat. That might of been a dumb move on my part." she stated casually. He casually moved his head from side to side in a "so-so" gesture of agreement.

"Hey!" She shouted and gave his shoulder a playful shove. "It was early, and besides, it's not like I've ever had to worry about killer cats before." They shared a laugh, well more like a silent giggle on Sandy's part before the seriousness returned. It was definitely easier talking to Sandy than it was with anyone else she had to explain to. Alice cherished the brief humor that was followed by silence and kept her eyes on the ground when she decided to go on.

"She showed me something. I don't know what it was but it was like the whole world was different. I cant really explain it." Alice didn't dare look up in fear her eyes would betray her steady voice. "Then she went psycho on me and that's when I used the thing Jack gave me and the...bunny guy showed up and brought me here. On the kind of bright side this thing followed back." She ended quickly, desperate for a subject change. "I know it seems suspicious but I find it kind of curious." A clock appeared over his head going counter-clockwise and quickly disappeared.

"What?" Sandy frowned sightly and the clock appeared again, this time with the device.

"It has a clock on it?" She asked doubtfully, struggling with their guessing game of charades. Alice could've swore she heard a soft tinkling noise as he impatiently shook his from head side to side. He reached up and took the box in his hands, pointing at the clock going in reverse and then back to the box when he pressed a button.

"Oooh. Well I _would've_ used it sooner but it kinda slipped my mind..." A very unamused look fell on his face.

"Well sorry." She said sarcastically "Did I forget to mention I was sitting on a frozen lake with a deranged lunatic? Things like that tend to distract you." In response Sandy held up the device up to her face and shook it with a look that said "That's why we gave you the darn thing in the first place!"

"Yeah, yeah, "Oh my god Alice look at all these horrible decisions you've made today," I get it already." She half shouted with an impatient wave of her hand. Sandy's irritation was replaced with a dim thoughtfulness and Alice noticed their conversation take a silent turn.

"Well enough about me, how was your day?" She said with a sarcastic cheerfulness. A sigh escaped her lips when the grim look in his eyes didn't waver.

"It really wasn't that bad, I did get away," she defended, "and all I got was a little scratch." His eyes flicked to her hand and back to her eyes.

_'Nice going, idiot.'_ She thought and mentally face palmed herself. Sandy held out his hand as if to ask for it and Alice scooted away a little.

"I'd rather you not, its a little tender." He insisted as he took her wrist and gave her a serious "trust me" look.

"Fine," she muttered, "but your not gonna like it."

Sandy gently took her hand and slowly unwrapped her bandage and, much to her surprise, kept a calm disposition as it fell onto her leg and revealed the damage. He tilted it from side to side to examine it and held up his other hand.

"What are you doing?" Alice asked suspiciously, in fear he would touch it. After her last unpleasant experience she wasn't so keen on having him poking around in it. He held a finger up and gave her a reassuring smile before placing it over the back of her hand and making her flinch.

"Hey! Didn't you hear me when I said it was tender?" She accused and fought the urge to pull her hand away when it started to sting. He rolled his eyes and a picture of a young child in a crib flashed over his head.

"I'm not being a baby." She grumbled and placed her elbow on her knee and leaned against her free hand with her cheek. "You try being harassed by a psycho-stalker and see how you like it." Sandy chuckled at her response before turning his attention back to her hand. Alice suddenly became very interested when streams of glowing sand began to flow from both sides and slipped under his hand. The glow under his hand grew brighter and illuminated their faces and a warm sensation quickly took the place of the pain. After a few moments the light died down and Sandy removed his hand. The wound on her hand looked a million times better. The small clumps of black sand in her cut were gone and the grey discoloration around the edges turned into a more natural red. It actually looked a lot like a normal cat scratch...well a very long normal cat scratch. Before Alice could marvel at his handy work he quickly wrapped it up nice and firm.

"Wow. Any more tricks up your sleeve I should know about?" Sandy's face scrunched in thought before he looked down his sleeve and held out his hand as two golden birds suddenly appeared and flapped around her head before vanishing.

"Neat," She laughed, "and thanks. A lot." He gave her a nod and Alice couldn't contain her eagerness.

"So you can heal wounds?" She asked, a curious spark in her blue eyes. Sandy shook his head.

"Oh, so I take it only wounds that involve this stuff." She said and looked down at the black sand sitting motionless on her knee. Upon looking up again she saw him staring blankly at nothing in particular with a small frown, obviously lost in thought. Alice studied him carefully and pondered what seemed to be bothering him so much.

"Your not blaming yourself are you?" Alice asked when she recognized the look on his face, not sure if she was right or not. His eyes flickered to meet hers before he quickly diverted them to the side. That all she needed.

"It's not your fault, Sandy. You could of been on the other side of the world when she showed up, and there was no way you could've known." Irritation started to rise in her when Sandy didn't respond. Alice racked her brain to think of what she could say. The whole point of being a Guardian in the first place is to guard. It's kind of in the job description, if you could call it a job. Alice sighed and smiled.

"You shouldn't frown you know, it doesn't suite you." She said and before he could raise an inquisitive eyebrow she pinched his cheek into a half smile. He crinkled his nose and wiggled out of her grasp, finally beaming a very contagious grin on his face. The elf that decided it was safe to approach pinched his own cheeks and smirked up at them with a big goofy smile.

_'Well that all went better than expected.'_ Their chuckles were interrupted when somewhere in the distance North's booming voice met their ears and Sandy turned thoughtfully towards the sound.

"I imagine your going to have to run off and have a little meeting with your buddies." She said, mirroring his thoughts. He gave her a quick smile of confirmation and pointed to her and then to the ground.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." He gave her a quick thumbs up and a smile before turning to leave. The elf had already begun the climb to his spot on her shoulder

"Oh and Sandy." She shouted after him and he turned and raised an eyebrow. "Any more mythical people I should know about?" The smile on his face widened and he turned back without an answer. Within a minute he was out of sight, leaving Alice sitting on the floor with goofy grin on her face.

"...Awesome."

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**Went over this a a couple times looking for mistakes, so If I find a typo later I'm going to go into the past and slap myself.**

**Well, I need to get off this computer or I'm gonna be late! :O Cheers!**


	13. Nightmare Child

"Coming down anytime soon?" Alice shouted and looked up. Jack sat on a balcony above her looking down with a sly smile.

"Fancy meeting you here. When did you notice?" He said and casually tapped his staff onto the rail. A thin coat of white frost traveled over it and a few stray snowflakes began to fall descend towards her.

"Lets just say you don't make a very good ninja." A snowflake fluttered down and fell into her outstretched hand.

"Funny, I used to be a pro at that." He chuckled and jumped down. A chilly breeze flowed past her as the wind cushioned his fall, landing him gently in front of her.

"Wow," she mused and held the beautifully symmetrical ice crystal up before it melted away, "I didn't know they really looked like this."

"Funny thing, most people don't. I have a thing for symmetry though." He boasted before glancing at her shoulder with a strange look.

"Uh-Well that's...adorable."

"Now whats he doing." She mumbled when she caught onto his sarcasm and reached up to pluck him off her shoulder. "I thought I told you to leave the hair alone." She scolded and yanked the golden lock out of his mouth which was now soaked in saliva.

"They grow on you." He smirked and bent down to get a better look at the sand.

"So I keep telling myself. So how much did you hear?"

"Everything."

"Great, so i don't need to explain again...Just how long have you been here?"

"Long before you got here." Jack subconsciously leaned the side of his head against his staff.

"Well thanks for coming to my rescue when I got here." She muttered sarcastically.

"Well you did catch me a little off guard. Next time you throw a party with nightmares you should invite me."

"I take you as more of the "crash the party" type."

"You would be right." He said with a mischievous smile and looked her in the eye for the first time. "You know that stuff usually isn't good news."

"Yea lay it on me, Iv'e had a bunch of lectures already."

"Well I'm not really one for lectures, but still you should be careful." Alice frowned and jingled the bell on the elf's hat.

"Are you okay?" He asked with a soft look in his eyes.

"Ugh, I wish you people would stop asking that. And besides I feel like I'm not asking the obvious question here."

"Which is...?" He asked slowly and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you guys?"

"Didn't we already do this? Ya know, Jack Frost, Easter Bunny-"

"Yea yea I know that part, but how?" Jack eyes narrowed in confusion at her question.

"I mean like where do you guys come from? Why don't you wear shoes? How do you do that thing with the ice?"

"Uhh...We should probably go talk to the others." He stood up and held out a hand.

"But-" She started as she took his cold hand.

"Don't worry, we'll answer all your questions." He assured and pulled her up, making the black sand quickly sliver up her sleeve. "Now hold on tight."

"What do you mean hold on-." Jack quickly grabbed onto her waist and shot up into the air with an enthusiastic "Whooooo!"

"A little warning maybe!" She yelled as the ground flew away from her. The floor above them quickly approached and in a couple seconds Jack landed onto the railing with cat like agility and lowered her to the ground. Alice made a mental note to ask him to teach her how to fly.

"This'a way." He declared and led the way to a familiar looking room. Upon entering Sandy spotted them over his shoulder and sent an enthusiastic wave, holding a fancy looking cup of eggnog in his hand. The three guardians stood at the base of the stairs and North and Bunny were busily talking with various gestures and an occasional wave of the hand.

"Hey guys, whats up? Been awhile since we all met like this." Jack announced his presence smoothly and twirled his staff before resting it on his shoulder. Alice sat on her previous spot on the window ledge and Jack leaned against the wall next to her. North and Bunnymund quickly ceased their chatter.

"Ah Jack, good you found her." North turned and exclaimed cheerfully and held his arms out. "Great, everyone is here now."

"So what happens now?" Alice whispered to Jack. keeping a fake smile on despite the fact she was terrified of whatever she was about to learn.

"Relax, you had questions right?" He said with a cool headed disposition.

"Yea..."

"Well so do we" He smirked.

"Well don't look at me." She muttered and changed into a dimmer tone when she questioned him about the first thing that came to her mind. "Yesterday you said something about that guy, The Nightmare King. Who is that exactly? The bad guy?" Alice awkwardly noticed the room go a little quiet upon her question.

"Pitch Black. He's basically fear, and he thrives on the fear of children especially. He hungers for children's dreams the most because of the innocence and purity they hold and leaves leaving only misery and despair." Jacks voice grew especially dark. "So yea, you could say the bad guy."

Alice leaned against the window, definitely more depressed than she was a few moments ago. It seemed really unlike him to have something so morbid come out of his mouth. "So all those times I felt like something was under my bed, or creeping up the hallway..."

"Yup." Jack said grimly. She felt a paranoid tingle in her arms and crossed her arms over her knees.

"What about nightmares then?"

"The boogeyman is the controller of fear, corrupting dreams with nightmares is a tool for spreading that fear. He will prey on those who are of weak heart and vulnerable." North interrupted "Luckily Sandy here is quite skilled in defending these dreams." He added this last part with a lighter mood and Sandy smiled and held his hand out and swept it in the direction of the other three guardians.

"We do a pretty good job of keeping fear in it's place, too." Bunnymund said with a firm nod, agreeing with Sandy's gesture. Alice was now sitting up straight with her one leg crossed and the other hanging off the ledge, Liking the way things were going.

"So if Pitch can control the nightmare sand...then what does that make Ava?"

"That is good question." North said in a strange tone and stroked his beard subconsciously.

"What was that word you and cotton-tail were throwing around...?" Jack started to say and comically rubbed his chin. North's eyes narrowed when he caught onto his game.

"Now Jack we can't start throwing things in the air like that, this is big accusation."

"Right off the tip of my tongue." Jack said and Alice realized he was hinting that she was being left out of the loop.

"Whatever it is I want to know too." She huffed and crossed her arms.

"Yea North, spill the beans. What is this Nightmare Child I keep hearing you guys mention?"

_'Nightmare child?...'_

North sighed. "We are not saying this is the Nightmare Child, but it is very strange. She seems to have a good amount of control over the sand from what I've heard, though I doubt she is as powerful as Pitch."

"Your tellin me, horrible reflexes that one, moved like a wombat. And besides what'a we talking 'bout this for, we know that's just some dumb sham to put people on edge, right Sandy?" As the conversation took a darker turn Sandy's expression took on a look of tense silence. His adamant eyes met Bunnymund's and the pooka's ear twitch in uneasiness.

"What is a Nightmare Child? Is there more than one?"

"There has never been a Nightmare Child." North corrected her. "Legend has it that in the dark ages an individual with full control over nightmares would rise. This person would be even stronger than the Nightmare King and be able to turn children and into nightmares with little effort. As you can imagine Pitch was very interested in this." North informed

"So Pitch doesn't control nightmares?" Alice asked.

"Only to certain extent. Nightmares are wild and are very unpredictable." Alice vaguely recalled the short conversation Jack, Sandy, and her had the night before.

"What does his daughter have to do with this then? Is Ava his daughter?" Alice asked. Even though she was getting answers it felt like a million more where popping up. North raised an eyebrow.

"How did you know he has a daughter?" North asked with a surprised tone.

"I'm a good listener."

"No Ava isn't his daughter. Last night, when Ava suddenly appeared and attacked, there was a strange shift in the balance of nature. That's why Sandy mentioned Mother Nature." Jack started to explain._ "Mother Nature, huh?"_ As Alice processed this new information she remembered how surprised Jack seemed at the mention of a daughter, but at the moment he seemed to be pretty filled in on details to her.

"Yes, rarely things so... unnatural happen. Her presence was certainly abnormal." North finished for him.

"Your saying she just popped out of thin air?" Alice struggled to understand what he was saying.

"Well, you could say it like that. There was huge distortion in the fabric of the universe around the time she arrived."

"Yea I felt it too." Bunnymund added in a low voice. "Same thing happened a'while back to."

"Aw that's not fair, why didn't I sense it?" jack whined and slumped against the wall.

North chuckled and crossed his arms. "It comes with age." If it weren't for her being a huge science geek Alice wouldn't of caught on to what North and Bunnymund were implying.

"A distortion? You mean like a...whats that word...a hole? No that's not right..." Alice uttered. Sandy raised a helpful finger and a picture of a worm wiggled above his head and then disappeared.

"Wormhole! Right!" She shouted suddenly with a huge smiled and enthusiastically pointed at him. Sandy proudly smiled at this. At least someones was being cheerful.

"If she came through a hole in the fabric of the universe, which would obviously disturb the balance of nature, then that means she could of come from another place." A golden clock briefly flashed over Sandy's head.

"...Or time." Alice said quietly, taking note to Sandy's image.

"So maybe there's a reason there was never a Nightmare child. She never stayed in the past." Jack observed

"But if she is being such a disturbance, why can't Mother Nature do something about that? Isn't nature the most powerful force in the universe?" Alice asked.

"Ah yes, most important lesson, much like nature, Mother Nature is neither good nor evil. She observes from every leaf and every drop of rain but that is what she is. An observer." North informed her. Alice never thought of their meeting as a "lesson" but she made sure to store it away in case it would be important in the future.

"Oh." Alice felt a tinge of disappointment. "So I take it you can't just look her up in a phone book or anything."

"'Fraid not." Bunnymund said with a laugh.

"Ok so we know that much, but what's the deal with Alice?" Jack said and nudged her shoulder and grinned when he received a glare.

"Wrong time and place?" Bunnymund offered with a shrug. _'Funny, doesn't feel wrong.'_ Alice thought, not regretting a moment of the last two days.

"Then what about the second time?" She added. Jack thought for a moment before speaking.

"You said that The Nightmare Child could turn a person into a nightmare right?"

"Supposedly." Bunnymund interrupted, still not buying the whole legendary Nightmare Child thing.

"So what if that's what she tried to do?" Jack voice started rise as if he were a detective suddenly cracking a case.

"Do what?" Alice asked warily.

"Think about it. Alice was the first child she sees-"

"Child?" Alice asked with a glare.

"Anyways, what if she tried to corrupt her?" Jack ignored her comment and finished quickly, leaving everyone's eyes to wander to her.

Alice felt a car suddenly slammed into her.

"But...you said she could do it with little effort. If so why was I standing there for almost a whole day before fur ball here showed up?"

"Excuse me-fur ball?" Bunnymund stuttered annoyingly making Jack snicker. Alice ignored his annoyance and rubbed her eyes.

_"No matter. You have already been imprinted." _Ava's spine tingling words repeated over and over in her head.

"What if I'm corrupted?

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**_I've had the word Nightmare Child stuck in my head since the beginning of this story and it feels so good to get it out. So, woopie questions are being answered, yet new ones are surfacing. :O_**


	14. Side Effects

"Come on now, if you was corrupted you'd be runnin' around like a a wild animal" Bunnymund said with a confident tilt of his head.

"Yea I'm not an expert, but you don't strike me as the bloodthirsty type at the moment." Jack added and Alice felt a little more at ease.

"Now what are we gonna do if she shows up again?" Upon hearing the bunny's question Sandy thought for a moment and a picture of two swords crossed into an X appeared over his head and he pointed to Alice.

"Yes..." North said slowly as he took in Sandy's statement. "She may not be done getting her point across, so there is good chance she will make her presence known to Alice again. Now its just matter of how to protect you until we can do something about her." Alice frowned with a twitch of her eyebrows, not very fond of being the weak one in the room. Suddenly an idea hit her.

"Teach me how to fight!" She blurted this out a little more enthusiastically than she intended.

North raised an eyebrow. "That is dangerous request."

"Well so is getting killed because you can't defend herself." She argued.

"Even so, it can take'a lifetime to learn any basic fighting style, much less apply it to an actual situation." Bunnymund interrupted. North crossed his arms and tilted his head in Bunnymund's direction in a "what he said" gesture.

"You could teach me to defend myself with a weapon then. I don't get it, don't you guys want me to be able to fight back?" Alice asked desperately.

"She's got a point." Bunnymund said with a shrug and raised an approving eyebrow. "Thank you!" She said loudly and held a hand out at him. "See, even he agrees!" Sandy sent the bunny a glare and quickly shook his head back and forth with his lips pursed and a very irritated look on his face. A clenched fist and then a circle with a slash flashed quickly over his head and disappeared within a second of appearing.

"Sandy's right, this isn't your fight and we cant have you in any more danger. If there is any more trouble we will take care of it. It was foolish of you to get involved in the first place." North said sternly and looked her dead in the eye._ 'Foolish?'_ If there was ever a moment that she had felt an invisible slap to the face, this was it. A feeling of antagonism began to rise in her stomach and she looked to Sandy for help. His hands where clenched as if he had something to say but he kept his eyes firm on the ground and she could tell by the expression on his face that he believed what North was saying was necessary.

"That...That's not fair!" She shouted as her anger began to swell up inside her. Alice didn't care how intimidating he was, there was no way she was going to be thrown aside like a precious rag doll. _'This is what they have to say? After everything, I cant even help? What am I supposed to do, just sit down and forget everything ever happened while they blindly decide that I should be "protected?"'_

_"A_lice-" North began to say intimidatingly.

"No!" Alice cut him off furiously and stood up to raise an accusing finger to him. Before she could speak her mind she suddenly felt something rushing down her arm and the black sand resting in her sleeve shot out and solidified into a needle sharp spike that rushed out to meet him. Alice eyes widened in horror and in a split second Sandy was on it. A burst of golden sand rushed out to meet it with lightning speed, diverting its course and embedding it deeply into the ground.

"Uh," Jack said nervously, already standing a few feet back and clutching his staff readily. "What was that you said about not being corrupted?"

Alice stared at the her shaking hand with wide frightened eyes, her mouth moving as she tried to talk but no words coming out. North and Bunnymund were obviously taken back by the random attack, standing tensely with in what looked like a defensive mode and Bunnymund already holding his boomerang tightly in his paw. Alice looked from each startled face and felt an overwhelming urge to run. Anything to get away from their betrayed expressions. Without a word she turned and started to bolt for the door.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, where do you think your going?" Jack quickly shot out his arm and snaked it around her stomach as she tried to tear past him.

"Alice-" He said when she suddenly collapsed to the ground on her hands and knees, his arm still wrapped around her.

"I didn't-I swear I didn't-" Alice stammered, staring at the ground where tears started to fall to the floor and land with little bursts when the tiny droplets scattered. The other three eased when the apparent threat seemed to pass and couldn't help but watch the scene with tense sympathy. North sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"I'm going to throw together another buzzer. Watch her." He said with a irritated wave of his hand and turned to the door and walked out while muttering a string of words in Russian .

"Don't worry Alice, hes just being tough because he cares. He'll get over it." Jack comforted and glanced over over his shoulder with an uncertain look. "I'll go talk to him." When she look up he threw a pleading look to Sandy who graciously hovered over to them. After a grateful nod Jack took off after North. Bunnymund cleared his throat and Sandy looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Erm, I'm gonna follow frostbite, this ain't exactly my area of expertise " He said while his eyes darted desperately from him to the door. "You got this right?" Sandy gave him a very unamused look as he started to make a beeline for the exit.

"Great, be back." He said quickly and with a quick salute was already out the door leaving very irritated dream giver behind. Sandy stood behind her with an uneasy knot in his stomach and was hesitant to place a hand on her shoulder.

Unlike North and Bunny, Sandy was more involved with the children 24/7. Most of the comforting he did took the form of dreams and even though there was an occasional interaction with children who believed in him it was rare that he kept that interaction. It was always a matter of time before children stopped believing anyways and he was disregarded as a dream, not that he took it personally of course. It was natural that they grow up into amazing people and give life to beautiful children of their own.

"Sandy." Alice's hollow tone pulled him out of his hesitation and he tilted his head in concern and placed a hand on her shoulder as he hovered around to see her face. Her hands were tightly clenched in fists on her lap with one hand hidden in her sleeve and her head was tilted down enough that Sandy couldn't see her eyes from underneath her bangs. Without warning Alice suddenly reached up and grabbed the collar of his robe and yanked him down to her eye level. Sandy's eyes widened in surprise as she looked him dead in the eye with angered desperation.

"You have to teach me how to control it." Certainly not the kind of reaction he was expecting, Sandy instinctively moved his face away from hers and awkwardly looked down at the hand clutching his collar and then back at her eyes. He Held up a finger and his mouth moved as if he was going to reject the demand until Alice narrowed her eyes even further, obviously not taking no for an answer.

"Either you teach me how, or I'll learn by myself." He reached up and plucked her hand off of him and held his hand out, already aware of what she was hiding. After a few seconds of sitting under his stare her expression mellowed and gave in and held her hand out. She wasn't sure what kind of reaction to expect as he carefully rolled back her sleeve. If it were Ashley she probably would've started freaking out as soon as she saw that rest of her arm which was now completely covered in black sand. However Sandy's face didn't so much as flinch as he turned it over and constructed a stream of dream sand with a wave of his hand.

"You could at least pretend to be surprised " Alice said gloomily and pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. The fact that these things were starting to be considered normal was upsetting to say at the least. Sandy nodded in agreement and lowered her hand before holding it back up and looking at it, this time with an exaggerated surprised expression.

"That's more like it." She said with a sad smile and watched as he guided the stream of sand to her palm and tried to spear through the hard surface. It made a small clink sound and Alice twitched her free hand impatiently.

"Make it sharper." Alice said lifted her head to get a better look. Sandy gave her irked look and held out up a hand. A spike formed and flowed straight into his palm and then another wisp of sand appeared on the back of his hand and stretched out, creating the illusion of a nail through the hand and then raised an eyebrow and nodded his head towards his hand in a questioning way, obviously asking "Do you _want_ to have you hand impaled?".

"Ugh fine, but your not doing it hard enough." She muttered and put her chin back in her knees. A brief image of a car with a backseat driver flashed over his head before as he turned his attention back to her hand. After an attempt to bend her finger he held up a hand and clenched it. Alice did what he asked as she held her hand up and clenched it with ease.

"Funny, it sounds like it's hard as steel, but it doesn't feel like it." She mused. "A friend and I used to go down to the beach sometimes and try to find the best seashells." Alice explained and her eyes softened as she remembered the crisp air and the crashing waves. "Anyways I would always try to dig down as far into the sand as I could to get one. It kind reminds me of that." She twiddled her fingers and Sandy silently listened with a small smile, staring at nothing in particular "It feels soft and cool. It actually looks pretty awesome." She smiled with a dangerous gleam in her eyes and tried to scrape it with her fingernail It was indeed hard as a rock on the surface, which didn't make much sense to her.

"So why did it do that?" She asked in hopes he would have a logical explanation. Two golden swords condensed over his head and one slashed down and the other quickly rose up to meet up.

"I don't get it." Alice said, not remembering any swords being involved in the first place. Once again an image flashed over his head, this time two boxers facing each other with their arms held up defensively. One went in for a punch and the other blocked it with his forearm.

"Defense?" She asked and raised her head. "You mean that was a defense mechanism? But no one attacked me!" She exclaimed. He moved his head from side to side in a half agreement and then tapped her hand and shook his head no before tapping the side of his head twice and nodding.

_'Not physically at least.' _She thought bitterly when he gave her his reasoning. _'Why would this stuff want to defend me in the first place?'_

"Ok, well how do I get it off?" She asked. He sat down in front of her and motioned his hand towards her and crossed his arms, watching her closely.

"Me? What am I supposed to do, this thing is hard as a rock!." She said quickly and tapped it against the round to prove her point. Sandy tapped the side of his head before crossing his arms again with a "be my guest" expression. Alice studied his face for a few seconds before giving in and resting her chin back on her knee and closing her eyes.

_'Ok now what? Concentrate? I've already tried that. Maybe if you stop thinking about that would help.' _Alice's brow twitched in irritation as she fought with herself before slowly exhaling and clearing her mind. She tried to think of it like another arm or leg, things that she had direct influence over. In crawling sloppy movements the sand on her hand began to slowly recoil and fall to the ground and then quickly slither away into the nearest shadows. Alice opened her eyes in surprise and smiled widely.

"Did you see that?!" She exclaimed enthusiastically. "I did that! I could feel it, like it was...like..." Her enthusiasm died down when she caught Sandy's bleak eyes. Apparently he seemed to disapprove of her enthusiasm.

"Uh...Isn't this a good thing? I mean if I can learn to control it then I could help maybe " With a blink of disbelief Sandy's expression went from unhappy to disgusted in an instant and slowly shook his head. _'Ok then maybe it's not such a good thing.'_

"Still," She muttered, "I don't want to hurt anyone." Sandy's expression softened and Alice continued. "I know it sounds naive, but I've never been very talented, or been able to do much to help anyone. I always thought I would just fall through life being pretty useless and not make any impact on the world." Sandy frowned in disagreement but kept his peace. "But when I found out there was a whole world hidden where I could never see it, and saw you guys and how you do so many amazing things to help children, I wanted somehow to be a part of it. I though maybe this could be my chance to do something, Something I could be proud of, whatever...side effects there may be. Maybe it's a good thing."

"Besides, I don't suppose you can do anything to stop it." She asked, assuming if he could do anything for her he already would've. He looked back up and held up both hands in a fist and a thin line of sand passed through both his hands. He promptly snapped the sand in half, which quickly vanished and then conjured up an image of a very complex looking molecule and pointing to the lines that bonded each atom and pointed to her.

"What?" Alice questioned and tried to concentrate as the same images flashed in front of him, this time much slower and with more emphasis.

"Whats Sandy's trying to say," North suddenly interrupted, "is that even though he can purge the nightmare sand itself, he cannot break the bonds made by your mind." Sandy nodded as North approached them.

"North-I-" Alice stammered as she was completely caught off guard. "I really didn't-"

"It's quite alright Alice." He said and began to rummage through his pocket, not paying much mind when she stuttered awkwardly.

"Really?" Alice asked in disbelief.

"Yes, you are not to blame." Alice raised an eyebrow, suspicious of his sudden forgiveness "Now take this. If you run into trouble again just press the button." He explained quickly and tossed another buzzer to her. She caught it in surprise and looked back up to see him smile down at her.

"Thanks." She said and smiled back. "What does the other one do?"

"Just don't press that." He said with a coy smile and continued before she could pry.

"Now you said something about training right?"

"Well, actually I said something about fighting." She said slowly and smiled when she caught on.

"Well, you can't fight without a little training."


	15. Free Falling

"Nope, no way. I ain't some mother hen or anything." Bunny shouted when everyone turned towards Bunnymund.

"Aw Come on now, Why'do I gotta do it?" Bunny whined when no one said a word, unless you count Jacks humorous smile which spoke thousands. After Alice finally calmed down and accepted the fact that all had been forgiven, North offered Alice a chance to train. But there was only one problem:

Finding a trainer. For some odd reason all eyes had floated to Bunnymund who was now desperately trying to wiggle out of it.

"Ya know Easter will be here anytime now, I don't got time for that!"

"Well," Jack reasoned as he began to walk in large circles around North and bunnymund, "There is still 4 months until Easter-"

"Five if you consider the Julian calendar " North chimed in cheerfully. Bunnymund threw a glare at North, knowing very well that the Julian Calender was replaced with the Gregorian calender over four hundred and thirty years ago.

"Good point," Jack mused with a bit of humor, trying to irk Bunnymund as much as possible, " and Christmas is next month, so obviously North has his hands full." Alice and Sandy sat on the window sill with their arms crossed and watched with smiles on their faces as the pandemonium unfolded in front of them.

"And Besides, we all know I have no particular fighting style, unless you consider freezing your way out of a fight an art-which I do. I don't think my power over frost is something I could really teach though."

"But sandy-" Bunnymund started, his mouth twitching in annoyance as the odds turned against him.

"Is busy." Jack said quickly and Alice noticed his tone take a slightly more serious tone. Bunnymund ignored his response and groaned as he quickly racked his brain for more ideas.

"How about Tooth? She's an expert with them swords of hers!"

"We still have to contact Tooth and let her know whats happening. There's no time to wait around as we explain it to her." North clarified.

"Whose Tooth?" Alice whispered to Sandy without turning her head. She didn't want to miss a second of the scene in front of her but she also didn't want to be in the dark. Sandy held up a hand and a small figure of a feathered woman quickly appeared and disappeared which was followed by a tooth. The images passed to quirky for Alice to really understand what they meant, but she quickly lost interest and decided to ask another time. Bunnymund looked at each guardian and his desperate disposition quickly vanished and was replaced with anger as he muttered something under his breath. Alice noticed with a smile that he had been defeated and held up a fist. Without looking at each other, her and Sandy shared a brief bro-fist before Bunnymund suddenly turned to them and twitched his ears back in anger.

"Fine, but don't expect me to baby ya." He said quickly and pointed to Alice. _'Great.'_ She thought with resentment. _'Maybe him teaching me wasn't such a good idea in the first place.'_

"Excellent, all is settled then." North said and held his arms out as if all the problems in the world suddenly disappeared.

"What?" Alice suddenly chipped in, "No its not. When do I start? What kind of fighting will I be doing? Will I be-"

"We start tomorrow." Bunnymund muttered and thumped a foot on the ground. The floor beneath him opened up and he dropped down into the hole.

"Wait!" Alice shouted after him and stood up as if to run after him. She stopped suddenly when her head grew light upon standing and bright lights suddenly flashed across her vision. After staggering back a step she rubbed her eyes before composing herself and his head popped over the edge and he raised an eyebrow.

"Now what'ya want?" He snapped and Alice could hear his foot tapping impatiently. Alice quickly ignored her now aching head and casually pushed her hair behind her ear.

"Uh..Thanks for coming to my rescue " It felt a little cheesy saying it, but Alice felt it needed to be said. After all if it weren't for him she might not be breathing right now.

"Yeah, yeah, just try to stay outta trouble." He said with a wave of his paw.

"Where do I meet you?-For training that is?" She asked before he could disappear again.

"Same place-early." He said this last part in a very serious tone and with a quick salute he ducked back into the hole. Alice watched with an empty feeling as the hole was replaced with its previous brown flooring before slowly settling back down next to Sandy._ 'Same place? Where would that be?_' Alice thought tiredly and could only imagine he was talking about frozen stream where they met earlier.

"So now what?" A loud yawn briefly followed her question and Alice stretched her arms out in front of her. "Sorry." She muttered and pulled her legs up onto the window sill and crossed them. Seeing the opportunity, an elf quickly climbed up onto her knee and happily munched on a candy cane.

"Well, I think we should take sleepyhead here home." Jack offered, making the elf sitting on her knee whine in disagreement. She chuckled and flicked the elf bell. Although Alice didn't want to really leave she didn't feel like putting up much of an argument. Home did sound nice at the moment.

"And just how are you gonna do that? I think my ride just bailed on me and there's no way I'm flying home with you." She uttered and shivered at the mere thought of being stuck thousands of feet in the air with Jack. She figured the survival rate of that situation would be extremely low granted she didn't kill him before the fall would kill her. Alice smiled and she silently giggled at her thoughts. Jack watched her odd reaction and narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"No, we have much faster method of transportation." North said and rummaged through his pocket. A wide array of noises came from his pocket as he shuffled his hand around in it and after a minute of searching he finally pulled out a snow globe.

"Whats that?" Alice asked with a tone of genuine curiosity. She hopped up, much to the elf's dismay, and wandered over to get a better look. It was rather large and quite shiny, but it didn't really look much different than any other snow globe.

"Now where was it you said you live?" North asked and Alice noticed a very suspicious smile on Jacks face.

"I didn't." She said in disinterest as she cocked her head in an attempt to see the figure inside the snow globe.

"She lives in the U.S." Jack said casually. "Nevada right?"

"Um, yeah." Alice said awkwardly. '_You'd think Id be getting used to these kinds of questions.'_

"Yup, I think she lives right on the edge of Spring Valley." He finished and leaned against his staff.

North Whispered what almost sounded like coordinates into the snow globe and threw it out in front of him. Suddenly a huge portal of swirling colors opened up in front of them and the room became even colder when winds suddenly came through.

"I think you can take it from here Jack!" North yelled over the noise of the winds.

"What did you do?!" Alice shouted and struggled to keep her footing as some unknown force pulled her towards it like a magnet. Her hair blew out in front of her making it difficult to see what was happening.

"Remember that brief conversation about tearing holes into the fabric of space and time?" He shouted back.

"Yeah?"

"Well this is one of them!" He answered and laughed almost manically.

"Is going around and poking holes in the fabric of the universe even safe!?" She yelled in disbelief.

"Yes...well no. It's just a little one, but I am sure as long as it is not used constantly it is safe."

"And just how often do you use it?"

"Ha! all the time!"

"You guys are crazy!" Alice shouted with a laugh and Jack suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards it.

"Whoa whoa, isn't there another way to get home?" She asked, not to fond of being shoved through a wormhole. There was no telling where she would wind up. She could wind up stuck in the middle of an ocean for all she knew.

"Nope! Going our way Sandy?" Jack yelled over his shoulder enthusiastically and Sandy threw him a thumbs up. As they grew closer to it Alice felt the pull on her get stronger. One more step forward was all it took and Alice felt herself lifted off the ground and pulled through

"Until we meet again Alice! North bellowed after her and any warmth that surrounded her suddenly disappeared as she was flung out into the open air and the portal snapped closed behind her. Alice squeezed her eyes shut and braced for the fall but oddly enough the wind continued to rush past her. After a couple of tense moments her eyes fluttered open upon the realization that she was falling through the sky.


	16. Not Exactly Fairy Tale Material

**Thank you music artists everywhere for all the lovely background music. :DDD**

**Anywho, brief brief brief language ahead (just a small warning) plus sad subjects and happy memories. :) Ah I don't want to spoil so shhhh xDD**

**Enjoy :3**

* * *

She knew automatically that a scream would begin rising in her throat any second. Anything to convey the horror that she was falling through the air thousands feet above the ground and gaining speed with every passing second. But not to her surprise she couldn't find her voice and the freezing cold atmosphere wasn't helping her communicate either. The lights of the city below her twinkled and glistened in the darkness surrounding it as it rose up at a rate that made its ascent hardly noticeable.

"Waiting for a reaction here." Jack said boringly. Alice quickly jerked her head to her right to see Jack falling alongside her with his back facing the land beneath them and his arms casually crossed against his chest.

"Jack!" She screamed in half anger and half in desperation.

"There we go." He exclaimed with a humorous smile and turned over in the air and stretched his arms out as he closed his eyes against the wind with a satisfied smile.

"I swear Jack if I die I'm going to kill you!" She screamed and flapped her arms in a poor attempt to slow her growing speed. In Jacks eyes it actually looked rather silly.

"Don't you see anything wrong with that threat?" He asked with a laugh. "Don't worry we've got another good two minutes or so until we hit the ground."

"Is that supposed to be comforting?!" She exclaimed and reached out and tried to grab his sleeve.

"Well, maybe one..." In a fluid movement he quickly darted away from her and moved his arms flat against his sides which propelled him down at a faster speed than her. With a flurry of wind he positioned himself about five feet below her and casually turned back to face her.

"Relax Alice, sheesh."

_'Relax? RELAX?!'_ She thought angrily but wasn't able to express her opinions as Jack continued to chatter.

"I thought you said were all about fighting and such. How are you gonna cope if you cant take a little plot twist every now and then? You have to be able and willing to move like the wind." He informed her and held his arms out making the air resistance raise him up a bit. "If you cant push a mountain, you compromise. Either go around it or go over it." Alice felt a little relieved that he had moved below her and she forced herself to control her breathing, which can be difficult when the wind is smacking you in the face at such speeds. It was actually surprising that something so sensible thing was coming out of his mouth. She dared to think it was even wise.

"I never said I wanted to fight." She growled loudly and held her arm out in front of her to shield her eyes from the wind which meant being unable to see where Jack was. "Just in case I had to." Now that she was able to construct whole sentences Alice decided to take a moment to think.

_'Okay falling to my death, now what?' _A brief consideration of molding wings out of the black sand crossed her mind but her she was quickly filled with doubt that she could actually pull it off much less concentrate that hard without taking up to much time. '_Besides, falling at this speed, if I suddenly decided to sprout wings I would probably wind up ripping my own arms off.'_ She praised herself for being so logical when two sudden taps on her shoulder made her gasp. She quickly did a full turn in the air and shot an arm out, making a shard of black sand shoot out from her sleeve and slice through the air above her. Sandy easily maneuvered away from the sloppy attack and after a quick "whew" gesture he shook his head in annoyance.

"Whoops...my bad." Alice uttered and hugged her arms tightly across stomach as if punishing herself for thinking there was a psychopathic murderer above her while she was plummeting to the Earth. Her eyes strayed from the golden figure in front of her and she noticed for the first time how huge and bright the silver moon and its twinkling companions were over her head. Falling with her back to the wind was way more comfortable as long as she kept her whipping into her eyes and Alice's tense expression softened as she watched it loom over them with a watchful disposition until the sound of Jacks distant voice over the rushing air pulled her back into reality.

"Yeah, I can see why she might be a _bit_ jittery." Jack yelled up to them in her defense. Sandy rolled his eyes and waved it off before holding a hand down for her.

"Thank you!" She yelled with as much emphasis as possible in hopes Jack could hear her hidden accusation.

"Aw, come on Sandy we aren't even close to the ground yet!" Jack whined as Alice took his hand. As her speed slowed drastically Alice used the support to straighten out so she could face Jack. She then promptly stuck her tongue out in triumph and genuinely laughed for the first time in a very long while. Even though his entertainment was over Jack couldn't help but smile at her pure delight and quickly turned his back to them to hide his smirk. He suddenly had a very evil idea and propelled away, leaving Alice and Sandy behind. The sound of the wind filled the brief silence while they shared a mischievous grin.

"After him!" Alice yelled and the grip on her hand tightened. In an instant their descent stopped and the two shot off after him. Through the wind Alice could barely concentrate on the clouds that rushed by which illuminated their chase by reflecting the soft moonlight. The lights below them whizzed by in a flurry of different colors and Alice felt that this was truly one of the most wonderful things that had ever happened to her. An obnoxious battle cry somewhere in the distance snapped her out of her thoughts and she listened closely to the atmosphere around them. Another one of Jacks loud battle-cry's suddenly erupted somewhere to their side and Alice knew something was happening. After a few seconds of apprehensive silence they came to a complete stop and Alice was left dangling in the air as Sandy scouted the sky and the rolls of clouds around them, not seeming to notice her distressing situation. A glance down wasn't quite as nerve racking as she thought it would be, but it still wasn't a nice feeling.

"Uh...This isn't really to exciting down here." She said nervously as a light breeze that caused her feet to sway slightly and made her head spin. Sandy glanced down at her and a look of realization crossed over him as if he had forgotten that she was there and had suddenly been reminded. With an apologetic face he constructed a smooth golden surfboard under his feet and quickly helped her up onto the back.

"Classy." She said in a tone of approval and gave the golden surface a tap. "Is this thing sturdy?" The last thing she wanted was to fall right through and plummet to her death, not that she didn't trust him to catch her before that. Sandy held a hand up and moved it from side to side in "sort of" gesture.

"Ha,ha, funny." She said sarcastically and the coo of a very realistic bird call that was much too close for comfort silenced them.

"I think he's playing with our sanity." She whispered as she inspected the space around her. He pointed back at her and suddenly a cup sitting on the edge of a small golden table appeared over his head. The cup tipped over and fell off before the golden symbols morphed into a question mark.

"I'm pretty sure the weird bird noise is what tipped me off." Alice retorted in a harsh whispered reply to what she translated as sarcasm. She proudly noticed that she was beginning to understand him without thinking for to long. A very suspicious and sudden burst of wind guided small individual puffs of clouds around them which scattered out in all directions; perfect hiding spots for a mischievous winter spirit. Alice examined his control over the wind and made a mental note to ask him about it later. The amount of mental notes piling up in her head were crazy.

With a smirk she looked back down at Sandy when she heard another bird call and noticed something odd. No that his back was turned to her she noticed in the moonlight a thin hair line mark that was lighter than the rest of him. It traveled from his right shoulder to the middle of his back and oddly reminded her of a scar. For a short moment she contemplated saying something out of curiosity before deciding it would probably be rude. A tense minute of silence past and Alice let her guard down and sat back on the end of the board making it tilt down just a bit on her side which freaked her out at first. Although she had decided to kick back and relax Sandy didn't wasn't quite as naive. With a gleam of curiosity, Alice watched as Sandy cautiously sat down on his end making the golden surf board even out. He sat with his legs crossed and closed in eyes in what looked like meditative stance.

"Um..." Alice started, not sure if she should be talking at the moment. "How are you going to see him if your eyes are closed?" She finished with a whisper. His head twitched to the right as if he had sensed some sort of unknown movement and he raised a finger to his lips without opening his eyes. With her cheeks now in her hands she suppressed a sigh and watched the moon above her. Whatever game Jack was playing it was starting to get boring. Alice could only imagine that Jack had heard her thoughts because in the next second a flash of white whizzed out from a cloud to their left. It happened so fast that the only way Alice could tell something was up was by noticing her silent companions reaction. A smile curled on Sandy's lip as the culprit revealed his position and he moved back slightly as the snowball zipped right past his face, ever so lightly brushing his button nose. The attack happened so fast that Alice was barley able to shield her face when a second snowball emerged from a cloud in front of them and exploded upon impact with her forearm. _'How the hell did he change positions so quickly!?'_

"Hey! That's dirty, Jack!" She yelled into her surroundings, not only because she wasn't fond of his cheating but also in hopes of getting a response that would reveal where he was hiding. She unknowingly breathed in a few chilly flakes of snow and suddenly her chest swelled with laughter. In an attempt to hide her delight she hugged her arms around her waist but couldn't help herself as she shook with laughter. It was amazing that in a span of less than ten minutes the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. It was just what she needed.

A few moments later her laughing died down into giggles and Alice was finally able to get her head back in the game. While she was having her giggle fit Sandy constructed a golden shield as two more snowballs erupted from the air around them and shattered on the golden surface in a flurry of glistening flakes. The attacks stopped for a moment and Alice finally composed herself and carefully stood up on her feet.

"Aw, You don't have to get up for me Alice!" Sandy suddenly threw her an alarmed look and an image of a golden clock which hands where position on three o'clock quickly flashed over his head. Before she could even begin to process the image an abrupt burst of snow impacted her right shoulder, tipping her balance. A step forward caused her foot to slide off and she dropped off the board and frantically reached up and grabbed the edge with both hands.

"Careful! That first steps a doozy!" Jack cackled from behind them as Alice struggled to pulled herself up.

"Seriously Sandy!" Alice growled as he helped her back up onto the board. "Who uses clocks to tell positions?!" The attempt to pull her up was almost in vain since Sandy was hardly able to focus as he shook with his own silent laughter. Another snowball flew out from behind them and made a beeline for the back of Sandy's head. Without looking back he quickly constructed a vine of golden sand behind him. It speedily shot out and eased back slightly as the ice flew into its grasp so it wouldn't burst into a million icy flakes. The golden tendril then quickly threw it back into the cloud it originated from.

'Whoa, close one!" Jack yelled out suddenly and in a blue flash moved into the next cloud. Alice felt a rush of air approaching her right when she was finally safe on the board and quickly planned out her next move, her patience for his jokes wearing especially thin. In the next split second she shot out her hand in a blur of movement and an almost bloodthirsty look in her eyes. She held her hand straight up with her palm facing the rapidly approaching snowball and a smooth black curved surface quickly flowed into shape in front of her hand. The black sand shielded her from the blow and the curved exterior diverted the path of the burst of snow which landed to her side on a very unlucky dream weaver.

"Aaah, look at that. I see the reflexes are kicking in." Jack cooed as a very unamused Sandy shook his head and fresh snow to fell from his golden hair.

Without retorting Alice numbly slashed her hand through the air in the direction of his voice and a long narrow vine of black sand whipped out and detached itself from her. It ripped through the air for a second before tearing through a silver cloud. The cloud buckled inwards and quickly began to scatter in all directions, eventually revealing an empty core.

"Close but no cigar!" He yelled tauntingly from the other side and she instantly threw another attack towards the cloud. Sandy rose up next to her and considered intervening but was suddenly met with indecision when he had to duck to avoid one of her attacks.

"Your starting to tick me off, Jack." She growled as she slashed her hand out blindly behind her when he made another weird bird call.

"Your attacks are getting sloppy and uncontrollable." Jack continued taunting from another angle and Alice was barely able to realize what he was doing. She threw yet another outburst into a cloud which also revealed itself to be empty.

"If you don't stop using your tunnel vision your going to hurt someone other than your target." The number of small clouds around them were wearing thin and Alice finally stopped to take his words in. After a brief thought she realized how frightening his statement was and slowly lowered her arms.

_'Note to self: More self control.'_

Alice glanced down at Sandy who was sitting with with his legs crossed and a cheek in his hand, along a boringly patient look in his eyes as if he had tiredly foreseen her actions.

"Right, sorry." She muttered and hoped they wouldn't pry to much on the subject. "Guess I got carried away..." Sandy studied her for a second and gave her a brief nod before pointing down at the board. Alice wrongly assumed he was telling her to keep her balance and gazed around her before realizing there was only one solid cloud remaining. It slowly drifted by about fifteen feet away and it was just big enough to hide a person.

"Ha! No where else to hide Jack!" She said and Sandy rolled his eyes while she concluded that the silence that followed surely meant imminent defeat. "Will you do the honors?" Sandy frowned and raised his eyebrows in an "if-you-say-so" look. Without standing up he lashed out his golden whip and sliced through it once and with another flick of his wrist the whip cracked through it a second time making it scatter in a matter of seconds into a thin haze.

"But-That's impossible!" Alice stuttered as she stared stared at the empty air. "It was the last cloud!" The surface beneath her feet suddenly jerked and tilted and she found herself doing a full 180 flip in the air as the board turned. Sandy boringly reached down and grabbed her wrist, still sitting in the same position on the with his cheek in his hand as the board capsized and came to a stop upside down. Jacks head peeked over the edge and he smirked down at the Sandman and the dangling girl.

"So...would that be a draw then? I was really the only one that threw some legit hits so it's only fair that I win." He asked. Meanwhile, as the two began to bicker, Sandy's eyes slowly began to shut and his head slumped forward just a bit. He adjusted his cheek back on his hand when it slid off and finally dozed off into a very welcomed warm dream.

"You cheated." Alice muttered. Even though she was trying her hardest to sound irritated, a very loud yawn eventually broke through and Alice knew she wouldn't be taken seriously after that. In fact Jack would be making some kind of sarcastic remark about it now.

"Again, not really the most expected reaction. But you must be tired after losing and all."

"Okay Jack you win, sheesh. Happy now?" Alice said, trying to figure out where his sudden competitive spirit had come from. A golden grain flittered past her field of vision and she realized the suddenly lethargic feel in her eyes was the golden sand that was gently falling off the board.

"Awesome. Yo Sandman!" Sandy, who was still holding Alice by the hand while sleeping upside down on a golden surf board, awoke with a start, nearly dropping her in the process. With a yawn he raised her up effortlessly as he slowly willed the surf board to turn back over. Her nerves finally calmed when she was sitting still on the firm surface, right side up. A golden house and a question mark flashed over his head as the golden man stood up.

"Yea, I think she's had enough for one night." Jack confirmed and casually stepped off the edge. Alice didn't object as he free fell for a few moments before a stream of wind carried him in the opposite direction. The nose of the surf board lifted up slightly in the process of doing an about face and Alice gripped the sides to keep herself from falling off the back. Her grip didn't loosen one bit when the board suddenly dived after him, swaying slightly from side to side as it smoothly rode over the wind. The ride was smooth actually pretty soothing with hardly any drastic turns for another ten minutes as the winter spirit led the way many meters in front of them. Alice appreciated the serene view of the stars over her head and Sandy glanced back and smiled to see her looking up at the dazzling heavens in awe. Eventually As they descended lower and lower Alice began to recognize the dimly lit streets below them and knew her house would be approaching any second.

"There it is!" She yelled in excitement. Seeing the roof of her house from this kind of perspective was certainly exciting. In fact she couldn't think of a time she had seen anything from this perspective. The roof of her house drew closer and closer until they were ultimately hovering right over the part of the roof above her room. With a gracious sigh Alice hopped down from the board and took a very unnatural step on account of the light sensation in her feet. She quickly decided the feeling of a solid unmoving surface under her feet was truly one to be cherished.

"Home sweet home." Jack said and Alice nodded in agreement and sat down on the flat roof, taking care not to make to much noise in case Ashley was awake. "So now what?" She asked.

"Well, Sandy's off schedule now so we probably have to get going." Alice stared at Jacks face, not sure if she should share her disappointment. "Now?" Sandy sadly nodded his head and then pointed to jack and then down towards the ground.

"Are you sure?" Jack asked and Alice began to feel a little like a third wheel as symbols passed over his head to quickly for her tired eyes to focus on. Jack rubbed the back of his head in thought, making his white hair ruffle.

"Ok then, I'll head in the opposite direction and ride the trade winds. Then I'll meet up with you in a few days." He said in what sounded a little like defeat. Sandy gave him a grateful smile and threw him a thumbs up. He turned to Alice and put his hands together in front of him and bowed slightly.

"Will you come by again?" She asked, mostly because she didn't know how to respond to his farewell gesture. He nodded with a small smile and the board slowly rose up. With a wave he was already surfing away into the night leaving the two in silence.

"Your not going with him?" Alice asked him and uncrossed her legs so she could lean back on her hands.

"No." Jack answered without looking at her and the golden dot grew smaller and smaller. "He wants me to stay and make sure your "situated" before taking off." He made the quotation mark gesture with his fingers as he pivoted on his foot and slowly walked towards her while distantly tapping the flat roof with the top of his staff.

"You seem worried."

"Yeah well..." He started as he sat down a couple feet to her right. "With all this talk about the sand and nightmares there's a lot to be worried about."

"Like..." Alice egged on, knowing what he was thinking. She felt some kind of mysteriousness surrounding this Nightmare King. It seemed everyone was so careful to not speak of it around her, as if it was something so horrible that she should know as little as possible about him. Logic like this tended to be the exact kind of thing that made her pry more though. Jack sighed and didn't say anything for a few moments before rubbing the back of his head.

"It was almost a year ago that I became a guardian. Pitch decided that it would be a good time to try to and devour the world in fear again." Alice took note of the "again" in his sentence which apparently meant the world was controlled by fear at least once before. The past always did sound like a painful place to her.

"Everything ended pretty well of course though the ride there was bumpy."

"Bumpy?" Alice asked, wanting to know details.

"Yeah. Pitch grew a lot stronger after Sandy kind of...died." Jack said awkwardly and the mood grew especially tense as Alice gaped at him in shock.

"What?" Alice asked in a higher tone than intended. It made no sense, since she had just seen him a few minutes ago, but the statement filled her with fear.

"Well obviously he's not gone," Jack added quickly, "but during a fight with Pitch he had his back turned and he took the opportunity. I tried to get there...but I wasn't fast enough."

_'Had his back turned..."_ Alice thought and the image of the thin scar on his back from earlier lingered behind her vision.

"It was pretty-"

"Fucked up." Alice interrupted in a venomous tone as she stared down at the roof in anger. It didn't take long for her to decide this Pitch guy was someone she definitely would **not** get along with. Jack seemed a bit taken back from her sudden little outburst and cleared his throat.

"Erm-yea. I would've of used that but the whole guardian thing kinda keeps you in check." He said with an empty chuckle.

"Sorry...So how did he...?" Alice trailed off, not sure how to phrase the question.

"Come back? Oh just a few kids who still believed. Turns out courage is a pretty handy thing in a fight even if your not the one being brave." He said this as if he were remembering something amazing and Alice wished she could reminisce on something the way he did. The kind of reminiscing that made you smile even when you where in the darkest place.

"When Pitch attacked he targeted the children's faith in us. Without Sandy to balance out the nightmares with good dreams the fear started to take its effect and their belief in us faded. Thankfully not all of them though." Alice stared at the stars overhead and listened keenly to his story.

"In the end a small group of kids who still believed brought Sandy back. After that, some things happened and then Pitch disappeared back into the hole he crawled out of."

_'Where was I when all this was happening?'_ Alice thought sadly. A brief silence followed until Alice decided to speak her mind.

"You must of felt pretty bad." She said softly after pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin over her arms on top of her knees. Feelings of guilt after a deeply cherished person passed wasn't something she was a stranger to. There were always lingering doubts of what could of been done if maybe one thing had changed the outcome. Just one little thing.

"Me? Guilt? Ha! And face Sandy's wrath?" He retorted with a sort of dry humor. Alice raised a questioning eyebrow to his odd response.

"He wouldn't have it." Jack explained with a sad smile. "He's just the kind of guy that hates it when people worry."

"Oh..." Alice said with a small smile. "So what happened after that?"

"Even though Pitch was gone, Nightmares were still running wild. Everyone was able to go back to their normal routine except for Sandy. The world was like a post apocalyptic war zone for nightmares." Jack stretched his arms out in a circle like motion for dramatic effect. "With their leader suddenly gone they scattered and went crazy. Every night it seemed these things would pop up and randomly go on a terror spree and the only one who can effectively get rid of the nightmares is Sandy. I stayed by his side most of the year, helping out whenever they popped up and keeping him awake. I don't even know if hes had a solid nap all year. He never complains either. He probably loves his job more than he loves sleep, and that's saying something." Jack inhaled deeply and held in a for a moment before exhaling.

"It just-...really seemed like everything was starting to lighten up and then this happens." Alice could hear the distress in his voice as he stood up she felt the temperature around them drop dramatically, giving her goosebumps. It was hard for Jack to stay seated for long amounts of time without getting antsy, much less when he's under stress.

"Sorry." She said sympathetically.

"...Nah, its not your fault." He said this part more to himself and leaned against his staff and looked up at the moon as if he could find the answer somewhere on its silver surface.

"So do you think Pitch is the cause of everything that's happening?"

"I don't know...the others seem to doubt it since its only been a little under a year but I...I'm just not so sure. Even if this girl is on her own I doubt he doesn't know whats going on."

"Why cant you guys just confront him or something?" Alice couldn't see why they couldn't just go to his...lair or wherever he lives and just demand to tell them what he knew.

"No ones seen him since he disappeared. Iv'e asked Sandy about his whereabouts and he said he can still feel his "presence" however that works, so I can only guess he's hiding until he recharges."

"Wow..." She sighed as she took it all in. Secret wars, magical beings, and evil villains. "It's all like a fairy tale." She murmured.

"You'd be surprised how many of those where inspired by us." He chuckled.

"So does it have a beginning then?"

"What?"

"The fairy tale." She blinked and repeated her question differently. "Where did you come from. How can you control the ice like that?"

"Me? Well that's...kind of a long beginning." He said slowly. Alice smiled and enthusiastically put her chin in her hands.

"I don't have anywhere to be." She smiled and waited eagerly.

"Its...also not a very happy one." Alice's face dropped a little but she decided not to push it and silently waited to see where his indecision would bring him.

"I'll tell it to you another time." He assured her as he walked to the edge of the roof. Jack leaned over the roof above her window and with a downwards swoop of his arm and a flick of his wrist opened her window without so much of creak. "It's getting cold out you should probably get inside."

"Wonder who's fault that is..." She muttered sarcastically and without a second thought she swung down and into the window, landing perfectly in a kneeling position in the warm room. An odd realization hit her as she stopped and sat on the ground.

"Yeah, I noticed to."

"What?" She said as casually as possible and stood up and quickly scanned her room for anything out of place. '_Same old, same old...'_

"That your getting more agile. No offense but you where kind of a clutz the other night. Now suddenly your able to swing into a window without breaking a sweat."

"What are you saying Jack?" She muttered as she took off her coat and noticed her alarm clock said 2:42 A.M. Mind games weren't really one of her favorite sports, especially if she was the one being played with. Jack sighed and hooked his staff on the roofs ledge and hung upside down for a couple seconds before plopping down on the open window sill.

"So this is your room, huh? I expected it to be more..." He trailed off as he inspected the dim moonlit room.

"More what?" She inquired with a raised eyebrow as she walked over to the door and hung up her coat.

"I don't know...more...girly, I guess."

"What, like pink everywhere and make up sitting on every shelf?" A squeaky toy suddenly squealed loudly making Alice jump back. On cue Sammy instantly woke up from the warm pillow he was sleeping on and began a string of small barks and growls.

"Some guard dog." Jack stated humorously as she frantically tried to shush the dog up without being to loud. "Aren't they supposed to do that when we climb in the window, not after?"

"Sammy!...Sammy!" Alice whispered loudly and closed her hand around his snout. "Shh!" After a whine of disagreement the small pup silenced himself and sat back on its bottom. "Good boy." Sammy studied her with deep curious eyes and crawled into her lap when she sat down.

"I've never really liked pink, and as for makeup I hate wearing it." She informed him in a soft voice as she stroked the dogs fur.

"Yeah I'm not much of a makeup person either." He retorted in a casual sarcastic tone.

"Oh really, Mr. Eyebrows." Alice mocked with a roll of her eyes.

"Whats that supposed to mean?" He asked suspiciously and squinted his eyes.

"White hair and dark eyebrows?"

"I cant help that! Its just my biology." He defended.

"Is that what you call it." She muttered.

"Aaanyways...Where is everyone? Don't you have brothers or sisters? This place always seems so empty." Even though her house felt far from empty to her it was a little quiet at times.

"Nope." She said in a carefree tone and lifted the dog up and placed it back on its pillow. After some circle-turning it finally settled down and started to nod off. "Just me and Ashley."

"Soooo, is that your mom?"

"Technically step-mom, but we're more like sisters."

"Cool. So wheres your dad?"

"He-...He died when I was seven." She said, not having to try hard to keep a firm voice. It had been said a million times before so she didn't need much practice.

"Oh." A look of genuine surprise fell over his face and he awkwardly sat up in a more polite position. "I'm sorry."

"Thanks." She muttered and the room grew extremely quiet.

"What was he like?"

Alice thought about this long and hard before answering, since the question itself was rare. Whenever most people learned about Walter they would awkwardly stutter and mutter an apology and made sure to avoid the subject in the future as she were some delicate porcelain doll that would crack whenever the topic was brought up. And here Jack was asking all the right questions. Alice smiled and turned around on the bed to face him and crossed her legs, definitely a signature story telling mode. When he recognized it he flashed his usual grin and changed his position on the window sill to sitting down.

"Awesome." She said proudly.

Alice went on to tell him about the times he brought back her favorite butterscotch donuts on Fridays and how he never hired professionals to do their jobs because he always thought he could "fix" it himself. She told him how he shared his wisdom with her and watched the stars on the roof with the telescope he bought for her fourth birthday, that is if she was still awake by the time he got home. They both laughed when she told him how she had embarrassed him at work one day when she had innocently called his buddies a new bad word she had learned the day before at school. Jack listened to her every word without interrupting and chuckled with her when she laughed and stayed silent when the mood saddened. Buried memories began to resurface and Alice had to pause as she briefly relived them in her mind.

**~0~**

_'I always wanted to leave this __noisy place. To many cars. Go somewhere nice with just you and me, peanut." Walter said as he and Alice gazed at the twinkling stars atop the roof._

_"Yeah," The much younger Alice agreed, "and get away from that mean dog that follows me home after school all the time." She added grumpily making him chuckle. He pulled his daughter closer from the chilly air._

_"Where would we go?" Alice asked and tore her gaze away from what she just found out was Jupiter so she could give him a curious look._

_"How about riiiight..." Walter raised his hand to the sparkling heavens and pointed his finger at some unknown wonder._

_"There."_

_"You mean space?!" She shouted and bounced excitedly._

_"Sure why not? Your in charge of stealing us a ship though." He chuckled and pinched her red frost-bitten nose between his fingers. Alice giggled and wiggled out of his clutches before turning very serious. Well as serious as a seven year old with messy hair and red cheeks could look._

_"Can we really though? Maybe if we asked some astronauts reeeeal nice maybe they would bring us somewhere."_

_"I don't think anyone could resist if you asked them nicely." He said. "But you need to finish your math sheets first."_

_"Dang..."_

_"And maybe if you get really good at that math, one day you can fly a ship somewhere out there, too."_

_"I don't know. Jared in class is real smart and he said that I'm just a stupid head just because I couldn't do a dumb division thing. Alo said he just says that cause' he's jealous of my Pikachu backpack." She said sadly and pulled a piece of hair out of her mouth that had fallen victim to the chilly winds._

_"Well next time you see "Jared" you tell him your dads a cop and if he's mean to you again I'll arrest him."_

_"But daddy your not a cop..."_

_"True, but it will still scare the pants off of him."_

_"Alo said boys are just mean because they like you." Alice said and made sure to remember what to tell Jared the next time he tried to bully her. A lot of girls in her class always said stuff like boys having "crushes" on girls but her young mind didn't quite grasp the concept of crushes to well._

_"Well I think your a little young for relationships..." Walter started slowly since he didn't think he would have to have this talk so early, "but if a guy is ever treating you bad, even if its because he likes you, then he is never worth it. Never believe you that because someone is mean to you or treats you badly that you should be nice and give them a chance. They lost that opportunity the moment they disrespected you."_

_"Alright." Alice said in disinterest. She wasn't particularly moved by what he was saying, nor did she really understand it. But what Alice didn't know is that this knowledge was something she would remember for the rest of her life._

_"And when you do get up there." Walter added and pointed up to the twinkling heavens. "Just remember to bring your old man along."_

_"I promise."_

**_~0~_**

"Somehow, he knew where every planet was in the night sky. I always wanted to get up on the roof with my telescope and learn where each one is. For him."

"He sounds like a great man."

"He still is." She hugged the pillow in her lap tightly and continued. "Complete strangers approached me at his funeral and told me what a great man he was, not that I needed remembering. He always tried so hard to be good. That kindness is the only reason I know him now."

"What do you mean?" Jacks eyebrows furrowed in response to her strange statement.

"Well...I guess if your not going to tell me your beginning I could share mine. It doesn't start off very good either but its the most important thing that ever happened to me." She uttered and wrapped her blanket around her shoulders.

"Ash is the one who told me this story since he never really got the chance. It was about... fifthteen and a half years ago today that my dad was was driving home late after work. She said it was a hard day and a meeting kept him busy into the early morning around two or so. Well, on his way home he realized he was starting to get low on gas and decided to turn back to a gas station he passed a few seconds ago. When he was filling the tank up he heard a sound like a cat. A few seconds later it happened again and he realized it was the sound of a baby crying. At the time he didn't think it was odd until he was getting ready to go and realized there where no other cars around. He walked up to store at gas station and found a baby wrapped up in a blanket right in front of the door."

"That was you?!" He asked in amazement and stood up straighter when the story took a surprising turn.

"Yup." She said and nodded her head with an almost proud grin. That part always seemed to surprise people most.

"Whoa." He said and shook his head in shame. "I never understood how a person could do that."

"Yea...but I kinda feel like they did a favor for me, even if that wasn't their intention. I think Ash said I might of been a year old, maybe a little younger. Anyways, after he brought me in the car and called the police he told her that after couple minutes I finally stopped crying and the moment he saw my blue eyes he fell in love. After that state took me into foster care and tried to find my parents. A year later he moved up his job and Ash and him were finally able to have the time to officially able to adopt me."

"Wow. That's quiet a story."

"Yeah." Alice said with a yawn. "Not exactly fairy tail material but it usually wins over the saps in the "sad childhood trauma" department." She said humorously.

Jack said casually and stood up in front of the window and Alice realized he was getting ready to leave. "You know your pretty amazing."

"Thanks..." She said slowly and narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the sudden compliment. "Compared to you guys I'm pretty lame though." She muttered with a sort of dry humor.

"Don't be silly." He said distantly as he studied the sky outside her window.

"Are you leaving?" She asked with a curious tilt of her head.

"Yeah its getting pretty late...well early." Alice glanced at the alarm clock which read four thirty-three "Besides I'm pretty sure you have somewhere to be tomorrow, so you better get some sleep. Dealing with bunny isn't going to be very enjoyable under the circumstances, especially if you haven't had sleep."

_'Wow that went by fast.'_ Alice thought as she stared at the red numbers on the clock.

"Thanks for the talk. Haven't had a real conversation in while. It was nice." He said and stepped up onto the window sill.

"No prob." She said with a small smile. "Thanks for letting me in."

"Well, you have right to know whats happening. Get some sleep and good luck!" He said enthusiastically and in with a sudden kick off the ledge he darted out the window. Alice heard a familiar burst of wind and quickly got up and ran over to the open window.

"You could of at least closed the window!" She shouted into the air and surveyed the night sky for the blue figure.

"My bad!" A barely audible distant yell from the somewhere in the sky met her ears and Alice knew wherever he was it was definitely out of sight. She closed the window and after walking across her room she fell over onto her bed and with a silly smile pulled her fluffy orange pillow into a tight hug. Before she could even begin to wonder what tomorrow would be like, a relaxing sleep met her like an old friend and a few minutes later Sammy lazily got up and plopped down next to her with a loud sigh.

* * *

**I think this might be the longest chapter yet. ^U^ ****I hope there aren't any big mistakes, I went over it like three or four times Dx *dead***

**Fun fact: Originally I hadn't planned to have another OC like Alice, I just wanted to stick to the usual characters and a new villain, but I decided she made for a much better story. :) I think shes pretty rad though. It's nice that everything is all cheery but here's a heads up for the _very _close future:**

**SHITS GONNA GET DARK. Maybe not the next chapter, but soon. Soon...(._.')**

** Welp, hoped you like it, Ill update soon. :p**

_**Happy Birthday Krystal! :D**_


	17. Human Nature

**Hello! \(^U^)/ If you are reading this you are beautiful! (Or handsome *Seductive eyebrow raise*) LOL xDDD**

**Anyways, Thank you for reading, it fills me with fuzzies to know someone out there enjoys my story. :)  
**

* * *

The warm sunlight streaming from the window was what woke Alice from her slumber. She slowly opened her eyes and winced against the warm orange glow before sighing and turning her back to the daylight. The dim red numbers on her alarm clock caught her eye and and instantly jerked up.

1:06 PM

"Crap." Alice repeated this word in her head over and over as she quickly showered and got dressed, throwing on some casual jeans and shirt that lightly clung to her slim figure. after grabbing a jacket she left her room and Sammy enthusiastically greeted her downstairs as if he hadn't seen her in days, which must have meant Ashley had checked in on her when she was asleep. Her suspicions where confirmed when she discovered an impatiently written note on the fridge meaning she probably left in a hurry.

_Could of at least called?_

_Sammy's going to need potty training soon. Try to give him some attention today._

_Be home later today, not sure when, Ill call._

_Love you,_

_~A_

_'Great, she sounds mad...'_ Alice thought unhappily and stared at the dog looking up at her while she wondered how to make things work.

"Aha." An ingenious idea so flawless came to her that she almost snapped her fingers in realization. "Come on Sammy we're going to meet a friend today." After some searching she finally found his leash and was outside in the fresh sunlight making her way down the sidewalk to Alo's house. Everything would've been perfect if she weren't late for her meeting with a certain Bunny and if Sammy would've stopped yanking on the leash every three steps. By the time she had reached her destination he had already peed on everything he could pee on and had tried to commit suicide twice by attempting to wiggle out of his collar to confront some extremely obnoxious dogs.

"Oh hey Ali- Oh my god you have a dog!" Alo greeted her and squealed upon looking down. Her brown hair was messy as if she had just gotten out of bed and she was wearing pajamas with little tootsie rolls on them.

"No, I have a monster." Alice muttered in good humor.

"Awww, so cute..." She cooed as she got down on her knees and was enthusiastically greeted by the furry puppy. "You can come in if you want, its kinda cold out." It didn't seem that cold to Alice. Even though the snow from the night before had melted and made the air chilly, the clear sky and sunlight made up for it. But that might just be because she was wearing a thin jacket.

"Actually I came by to see if your sister could babysit for me. Why aren't you at school?"

"I'm sick."

"You don't look sick..."

"Well as far as the school knows I am." She said with a wink. Alo stood up and embraced her friend and after a few seconds still made no attempt to let go, one of the many red flags that something was bothering her.

"You alright?" Alice said softly into her warm shoulder.

"...Yeah." She murmured. "Just haven't seen you in awhile." Alice sighed and finally let go go her friend. It felt strange how normal her morning was going. Visiting a friend and having a conversation after all that had happened made her feel curiously out of place. An almost sad awareness came over her that she probably would never look at anything the same. _'But that's what being human is all about, right? Change? Who would want to stay the same their whole life? That's certainly no fun.'_

"I know, I know. I'll try harder I promise. But things have been a little weird lately."

"Is it about that boy?" Alo asked with a smirk and her eyebrows tauntingly.

"I told you it wasn't a boy, I...I'll tell you another time I promise but for now I need you to watch Sammy. I have to go to school today and I'm already late."

"Fiiiine." She moaned in defeat. " But I thought you only go like, twice a week or something."

"Yeah well my teacher wants me to come in to take a quiz or test. He does that a lot actually."

"Mmkay. Sammy huh?" She said as she picked up the dog and scratched behind his ears.

"Yup. Plus your backyard is perfect for some playtime and he can get acquainted with your dog. Its a win win...kind of. I want him to socialize a little so he doesn't freak out every time he sees another person...or dog."

"Well I'm good at socializing." Alo said proudly._ 'No duh.'_ Alice thought. Alo was the the kind of girl that could talk to anyone and even though they were best friends, their personality's contrasted immensely. Unlike Alice, Alo could always make the first move, and was maybe a bit more dramatic than her. Drama was never something Alice enjoyed but Alo was an exception that she could put up with.

"Cool, I'm gonna have to go soon or Ill be in more trouble than I am now."

"Wow, is your teacher really that strict?"

"You have no idea." She said sarcastically and pet Sammy. "You better be good." She threatened and Sammy shot out and tried to nip at her nose, making Alo giggle hysterically. "Yea I love you to, you little punk." She muttered and gave him a quick kiss on the head before turning around and walking back towards the sidewalk. "I'll try to hurry back!"

"That's okay take your time!" Alo shouted back and struggled to hold Sammy as he tried to wiggle away to follow her. "Your going to die today anyways."

Alice froze mid-step and turned back. "What?"

"Whats wrong?" Alo asked in genuine concern.

"What did you just say?"

"I said good luck...Why? What did you think I said?"

"Uh-never mind. I gotta go." She said quickly and slowly began to walk down the sidewalk. For a few moments Alo stood in the doorway and watched her friend leave before walking back inside. Alice's pace gradually grew faster and in the next minute she was sprinting full speed with her head down.

_'Why would she say that?' _Alice clenched her fists tighter and pushed herself to run faster as if running would help her escape. 'E_ven if she was just messing with me she would never say something like that, that's not like her. _In the horizon she noticed the old wooden bridge from the day before begin to draw closer and before she knew it her feet clopped over the rotting wood floor and she stopped in the middle to catch her breath. The roaring of water under the bridge drew her to the side and she stepped up into the splintered rail and looked over to see water rushing underneath her. A clear sheet of ice rode swiftly over the waters surface before hitting a support beam under the bridge and breaking up into smaller pieces.

"Your late." A familiar Australian accent snapped her out of her daze. She looked over just in time to see a grey flash disappear into the trees. With a sigh she took off into the wood.

"Don't you think running into a dark secluded place like this is a bad idea?" She shouted while increasing her speed. The sound of the quick thumping feet ahead of her started to fade.

"Ah quit whining ya slug, your gonna have to run faster than that if your gonna catch up!" She heard him say. Alice groaned and almost stumbled over her own feet as she pushed herself harder.

"Who are you calling a slug!?" Alice yelled back and barely heard him laugh. It was a good thing she changed schools this year or she wouldn't be in nearly enough shape to do all this running. _'Looks like all those long walks are actually paying off.'_ A dead root that jutted out of the ground caught her foot and Alice was going so fast that she barley was able to keep her balance as she flew forward. Her foot thankfully met the ground without wavering to much and she pushed off the ground into full speed again.

"Where are we going?" She yelled when she noticed her surroundings were growing darker. It would of been unnerving if she weren't so focused on keeping her legs moving. After a few moments of no answer she slowed herself down into a walk and examined the dead world around her. The lack of life made the atmosphere melancholy. There wasn't a single bird in sight nor a chatter of an animal, unless you count the irritating bug whizzing around her head. The trees seemed to converge as it got deeper, ultimately crowding and starving themselves.

**"Sound familiar?**" Alice immediately stopped and listened closely to her dim surroundings. The snap of a twig made her breath catch in her throat and she turned just in time to catch a glimpse of a shadow disappearing behind a tree.

"If your trying to scare me its not working." She growled._ 'Just in case though.' _After quick exhale Alice held out her hand and focused. A seeping darkness slithered out of the surrounding shadows and traveled up her right leg, ultimately concentrating into a semi-smooth platform on her forearm which could serve as a shield.

"**Alice.**" There was no question about it now, someone was definitely there, and there voice was a clear as the daylight, as if they were right next to her.

"Who's there!?" She shouted fiercely and quickly turned around in a circle to make sure nothing was creeping up behind her. Her makeshift shield bumped into and fallen branch and the right half instantly shattered and felt to the ground. As the darkness scampered into the shadows to seek refuge from the light Alice cursed under her breath and mentally called it back. The black sand hauled for a second and shifted as if it were contemplating turning back before disappearing into the shadow of a tree. _'How am I supposed to defend myself with this junk?'_

"Who are ya talking to?" Alice jerked to the left and stared at bunnymund with stiff eyes. He raised an eyebrow and studied her from head to toe as if calculating whether she was a threat.

"Apparently no one." She muttered and let go of her grip on the useless shield before shoving her hands in her pockets. The sand fell to the ground and slithered away and bunnymund hopped to the side to avoid it.

"Uck, and you let that stuff touch you?" His fur shivered in disgust.

"So do you..." She said casually and followed happily as he turned and led the way at a much lower pace.

"What are you on about?"

"Well..." She started and thought for a moment. "In every single shadow, every one we step on or pass by, its there. So technically its everywhere."

"Well as long as it stays in the shadows, that's fine." He spat. Alice frowned and cocked her head. It sounded cruel really, to be forced to live in the shadows.

"But don't you think its kind of sad?"

"No. Its natural." And with that Alice felt the conversation starting to spiral. "Whats happening to you is another story though. _That's_ not natural."

"What?"

"Its changing ya...How far in do you think we are?"

"Uuuuh..." Alice looked around and tried to estimate how far she could have got in five minutes. "I don't know maybe a half...a mile?"

"Twelve." He corrected.

"Twelve what?"

"Twelve miles!"

"What?!" Alice stopped and looked around in astonishment. "No way!" She muttered as bunnymund stopped to turned.

"Didn't you see the trees whizzing past you? You weren't as fast as me of course, but hell..." He turned back and continued walking and Alice was under the impression he was deep in thought. She looked around for a moment before numbly following. _'No wonder my shoes look like crap...'_

"So what is it then?" Alice said in response to his silence.

"What do you think?"

"I think your worried because of its nature. Its not in is nature to give without taking. Giving alone is something its incapable of, unless its fear."

"So if its giving something..." He wandered and allowed her to finish.

"There must be a catch." Alice was silent for a moment before she clasped her hands behind her head and walked at a more carefree pace.

"Pssh, way to darken the mood bunny."

"Do you take anything seriously?!" He yelled and threw his paws up in the air in amazement. With a laugh Alice kicked a rock and took another look around.

"So where are we going exactly?" She asked and his ear twitched as the rock clunked against a tree root.

"You'll see, in fact were almost there."

"Cool. So are you gonna teach me some awesome fight moves?"

"No."

"Awwwww, what?" Alice whined and slumped forward a bit.

"I'm gonna teach you some awesome fight moves and also teach you self control. Self control comes first though."

"Sounds boring."

"Incredibly."

* * *

**Next chapter will probably be a lot longer :P**


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